The Lunar New Year is fast approaching and soon your family can enjoy celebrating the exciting festivities together!
This festival is filled with many beliefs and customs and is a time when families young and old will gather for reunion dinners and to take part in other symbolic activities.
Here are some fun Lunar New Year facts you and your family can enjoy discovering together as you usher in the new year!
The Lunar New Year celebrations is a great opportunity to reconnect with your family
1. Why is red considered an auspicious colour to wear during Lunar New Year?
The colour, according to Cultural China, is believed to be a symbol of happiness and good fortune as it scares away bad spirits, so wearing red or bright-coloured clothes for the Lunar New Year is encouraged.
It is also highly recommended that you wear new clothes as this represents a fresh start for the New Year – certainly a great excuse to go shopping with your kids!
2. Why do we exchange oranges?
Oranges are considered a symbol of good luck and wealth and are exchanged during Lunar New Year
Not only are oranges a healthy and tasty treat for your little ones; but in Chinese, the word orange or tangerine sounds like “luck” or “wealth” and it is a custom to exchange them with one another as a gesture of goodwill.
The colour of oranges is also considered the closest to gold, which represents prosperity and wealth. Don’t forget to bring some along when visiting family and friends during the Lunar New Year.
3. Why can’t we sweep the floor during Lunar New Year?
It is believed that sweeping or dusting during the festive season can “sweep away” your family’s good fortune.
But don’t let your kids use this as an excuse to not help with the household chores! Even though it’s considered bad luck to sweep or dust during Lunar New Year, all cleaning should still be done a day or two before.
It is also recommended to refrain from sweeping over the threshold of your main entrance as this signifies “sweeping away” of a family member – and for the swept up dirt to be carried out through the back door so that no harm will follow.
4. Why is the 福 (fu sign of good luck) hung upside down?
Your children might giggle and think you’ve mistakenly hung up the fu sign of good luck incorrectly, but tell them that this is actually a way of bringing in some good fortune!
These signs are usually made of red paper with gold lettering and is hung either over or on the front door to your home.
It is believed, according to an article on About.com, that by placing the fu sign upside down over your front door, good fortune will arrive and pour into your home, therefore blessing everyone for the Lunar New Year.
5. What do ang baos represent?
Image source; iStock
Another highlight for kids during Lunar New Year is receiving nice red packets or envelopes of money, also known as ang bao!
These symbols of good luck, according to the International Business Times, and well-wishes are traditionally given out by the elders and married individuals to children and unmarried singles and can range anywhere from $2 up to $80.
Although your children will probably be tempted to spend their ang bao money collection at the toy store, you should use this opportunity to teach them some important lessons about money and encourage them to set a certain sum aside for a rainy day.
*Promotion no longer available
To provide your little one with a good start to the Lunar New Year, you can open up a Maybank Youngstarz Savings Account which is a uniquely tailored savings account for children so your tot will get a great head start in life.
There is also a Maybank Family Plus programme that offers triple the interest among its many benefits; and an iSAVvy Savings Account offering, one of the best online savings accounts in Singapore, so you can help your family save for a brighter future and have a truly prosperous Lunar New Year.
What’s even better, from now until 31st March 2017, you can receive a set of tickets* (for 2 adults and 2 kids) to KidZania Singapore worth S$186 when you deposit S$20,000 into a Maybank Youngstarz Savings Account and S$10,000 into iSAVvy Savings Account!
Head down to any Maybank Branch or click here to find out more.
*Terms & Conditions:
Deposits will be held by the bank for 6 months from the date of deposit. Additional Terms and Conditions governing this Promotion apply together with the Rules and Regulations governing Savings Accounts shall also apply. Please refer to maybank.sg/familyplus or visit any Maybank branch for more details.
Deposit Insurance Scheme:
Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$50,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law. Monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the CPF Investment Scheme and CPF Minimum Sum Scheme are aggregated and separately insured up to S$50,000 for each depositor per Scheme member. Foreign currency deposits, dual currency investments, structured deposits and other investment products are not insured.