New Year Eve Superstitions From Around The World

Sweeping The Right Way

The Chinese New Year (the “Spring Festival”) coincides with the lunar-solar calendar’s change. It isn’t officially observed until late January or early February. However, the day is distinguished by countless customs and superstitions, much as it is in many Western countries.

Cleaning your house from top to bottom as a way to usher out the previous year is a good-luck custom. People sweep the house inward, gather the dirt, and throw it out the back door rather than the front entrance to guarantee that the good luck doesn’t be pushed out with the bad. This is done to prevent clearing away any lingering fortune; homemakers cannot clean their homes for the first two days of the New Year.