Why can’t I wash my hair on Lunar New Year?
“一年之计在于春” is a well-known saying in Chinese culture; meaning “you must start planning for the year in the spring” or “you better start the year off right!”. This leads to many interesting traditions in the early days of a Lunar New Year, including not washing your hair on specific days on the calendar.
Debbie, a student research assistant on the UBC INSTRCC team, and her family practice this tradition. “On the first two days of the New Year, we do not wash our hair as it will wash away the good luck. In the first 15 days, we can wash our hair once with pomelo leaves, then washing hair becomes normal again. We just have to avoid days 1,2,7, and 15,” Debbie explains.
“Lunar New Year celebrations last 15 days, and each day is special. But those specific days are “more” important, therefore we try to avoid washing our hair on those days. Day 1 is New Years, day 2 is 开年 (Starting of the year), day 7 is 人日 (literally “Human’s Day”), day 15 is 元宵节 (Lantern Festival).”
This practice also extends to not washing clothes, sweeping the floor, or cutting hair for many families. The reasoning behind such tradition lies in the belief that washing and cleaning will brush off one’s luck and fortune. Doing these things on day one puts you on the wrong foot to start the year. Many Chinese folk beliefs also stem from (near) homonyms in the language. The word for “hair” and “fortune” share the same character (发). Therefore, the logic is that by washing or cutting your hair, you are cutting off good fortune and luck for the rest of the year.
Another large portion of homonym-based beliefs is in food and the spoken-wishings around the New Year.
Bok Choy 白菜
“On New Year’s Eve, the entire extended family (~20 members) goes out for dinner at a restaurant. The kids say their CNY wishes (four-lettered 成语) to the adults and we get a round of red pockets. We head over to our grandparents on the first day too to say CNY wishes again. We also call relatives in Hong Kong. The food we eat all have a meaning—the names are all puns for the CNY wishes,” Debbie says.
Here are some more examples:
Glutinous rice balls 汤圆
Bok Choy = 发财 (good fortune/striking gold)
Fish = 年年有余 (having excess/being well-off)
Rice cake = 年年高 (having a fortunate year)
Tofu = 都福 (everyone is fortunate)
Chicken = 大吉大利 (having luck on your side)
Glutinous rice balls = 团团圆圆 (family coming together)