I’m the daughter of Chinese language immigrants, and one of many traditions my household follows is to spend the times and weeks earlier than the brand new 12 months getting ready our residence, notably decluttering, cleansing, and eliminating junk.
The ritual requires sweeping out the previous 12 months’s misfortunes—often known as the bags that’s represented by the literal stuff we’ve accrued. A play on phrases, “mud” is pronounced like “outdated” in Chinese language. Eliminating the mud (and the outdated) creates area for good luck to enter our residence, and who doesn’t need that?
My household additionally decks out our residence with fortunate decor. This units the stage to ring within the new 12 months—which falls on February 10 this 12 months—and to welcome in fortune and prosperity.
Just lately, my household began a brand new, unconventional custom: We turned to Lego to assist set the scene.
This intricate and colourful set combines conventional Chinese language symbolism with a festive household exercise.
