Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
As you move forward with New Year goals and action plans, keep in mind that Chinese New Year is arrives with the new moon on January 26th, 2009. These next few weeks are a wonderful opportunity for getting your physical space in order. Here’s a reprinted article from a past FFS newsletter with tips on preparing your home for the Lunar New Year.
One of the things I like best about Chinese New Year is that it provides a second chance to catch up on all those things we meant to get done before the Jan. 1 New Year, but didn’t quite get to. And, for those who have slipped a little on their New Year’s Resolutions, it’s an opportunity to refocus.
Traditional Chinese New Year celebrations focus on home and family, and on ensuring that the New Year will bring lots of good luck. Much of this activity centers on thorough house cleaning to clear out old energy and make way for the new. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the New Year marks the start of Spring, so it’s a good time for “spring cleaning” even if the weather is still wintry in your part of the world.
If you don’t have time to clean and de-clutter your entire home before the lunar New Year, concentrate on your kitchen. A clean, food-filled kitchen is the center of family life and a symbol of health and prosperity, so it is especially auspicious for the New Year. Here are some key things you can do:
- Clean out your refrigerator and freezer. Toss anything ancient, mysterious, or “iffy,” and refill or replace anything that’s less than half-full (such as condiment bottles and jars). Defrost the freezer and get the inside of the fridge sparkling clean.
- Clean off the outside of the refrigerator, too. If your fridge is covered with magnets, photos, take-out menus and grocery lists, clear them all off to create a clean slate (you can put any necessary ones back after the New Year).
- Declutter your pantry shelves, and use or toss anything that’s been in there for months. Wipe down the shelves and clean the cabinet doors.
- Clean your oven and stovetop, and replace burner pan liners if they’re no longer shiny and new-looking.
- Replace worn and/or grubby oven mitts and dish towels with new ones.
- Get out a broom and thoroughly sweep the kitchen, and then from the kitchen out the nearest door. This symbolically sweeps out the old energy and any lingering not-so-good luck, to make room for better luck to come in with the New Year. On January 26th, make sure your broom is hidden away in a closet out of sight, and don’t do any sweeping on that day. This will ensure that all the new luck (especially money luck!) that comes into your home with the New Year stays in the home and is not swept back out.
- Do a big grocery shop a day or two before the New Year, so your fridge and pantry will be filled with bounty when the New Year arrives. Make sure any canisters (flour, sugar, rice, etc.) are full.
- Buy nine of the biggest, most perfect oranges you can find, and place them in a bowl on the kitchen counter or in the center of the kitchen table. Or, on New Year’s day, roll the oranges one by one through your front door to symbolize luck coming in to fill your house. Then gather up the oranges and place them in a bowl in your kitchen or living room.
- Prepare some of your family’s favorite foods the day before, to serve on New Year’s Day. Plan ahead, because using sharp knives on New Year’s Day is thought to bring bad luck, instead of good! (This is more superstitious than symbolic, but it does mean you can enjoy a good meal with the prep-work already done.)
If welcoming in greater prosperity is high on your wish list, add these steps to your New Year preparations:
- Pay all your current bills before January 26th this year, and pay off as much as possible of any debts you may have. Even a small additional payment on a credit card bill symbolizes your strong intention to prosper and become debt-free in the New Year.
- A day or so before New Year, stop by the bank or ATM and withdraw an amount of cash that’s more than you usually carry around, so you enter the New Year with a fat wallet. If money’s tight, fill your wallet with one-dollar bills and your change purse with pennies. Having many pieces of money around for the New Year is more important than how much it adds up to.
- In addition to the nine oranges mentioned above, place more bowls of fruit and nuts around your home and in your office, as symbols of abundance.
- Buy a new red garment and wear it on New Year’s Day. You don’t have to dress from head to toe in red, so long as you wear something red and new – even a small accessory will do, if that’s all you can afford.
Remember that Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate family. Even if you don’t bother with any of these preparations, it’s a good time to pick up the phone and call your friends and loved ones to let them know they are important to you.
Wishing everyone a wonderful and joyous 2009,
Stephanie R.
Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog
Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power. They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat’s natural charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone, but rats are usually highly exclusive and selective when choosing friends and so often have only a few very close friends whom they trust.
Happy New Year everyone… the year of the pig is upon us.