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Sunday 2 February 2014

3rd Day of CNY 2014

It is a day of rest! :) According to the traditional Chinese customs, people do not go visiting on the 3rd Day of Chinese New Year (CNY) for three reasons. 
One, today is the Red Dog day (Red Dog = God of Anger). Apparently, God of Anger brings bad luck to people so people don't go out on this day to avoid losing temper and getting into arguments with others. 
Second, there's a saying that today is the Mice's wedding day and so people want to prevent mice from breeding too fast (or something to that effect, there's a saying in Minnan dialect which I can't recall). 
Third, today is also known as the day of "Sending off the Poor". If you have any rubbish which was not removed before CNY, this is the day to clear them out. And also for the first two days, there was no sweeping allowed and so today is the day to sweep out the "Poor Spirit" from your home. :) 
On a more practical note, after days of CNY preparation and 2 days of CNY celebration, most people are tired and the 3rd Day of CNY is the perfect day for a rest. :P There are definitely wisdom in these sayings by our ancestors. :) 

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