By Master Steven Chen
The Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate and also to prepare for the new energy and possibilities that the new cycle brings. One of the best ways to do this is by applying the ancient wisdom of Feng Shui.
On February 10, 2024, we will enter the Year of the Dragon. This zodiac sign is associated with elegance, grace, and diplomacy, making it an ideal time to focus on creating a harmonious and balanced environment in our homes and workplaces.
Laughing Buddha
By following a few simple Feng Shui tips, we can improve the energy flow in our spaces and attract prosperity, good luck, and happiness. So, whether you’re hosting a big feast, decorating your home, or just looking to start the new year off on the right foot, read on for some useful and fun suggestions on how to make the most of the upcoming Chinese New Year.
Here’s What to Prepare for Chinese New Year 2024:
· To ensure that the start of the New Year is organized and auspicious, it is traditional to clean your home before the New Year’s arrival thoroughly. This includes tidying every room in the house.
On New Year’s Eve, all cleaning tools such as brooms, brushes, and dust rags should be put away. It is believed that sweeping or dusting on New Year’s Day would sweep away good fortune along with the dirt. Therefore, it is best to refrain from cleaning on the first day of the New Year to allow good luck to stay in the house.
· To purify the energy of the home, it is customary to burn sandalwood incense, place bowls filled with safflower water, and ring a Tibetan bell on New Year’s Day. This ritual is thought to clear negative energy and bring in positive energy. During this time, recite prayers or mantras, which can further enhance the positive energy of your home and set the tone for the coming year.
Buy Lucky Flowers or Plants
· Display symbols of good luck and prosperity, such as the Chinese character for “fortune” or the image of a dragon or lion. Display a pair of mandarin ducks as they symbolize love, fidelity, and happy marriage.
· Hang a red ribbon on your front door to attract good luck and keep negative energy away. Place a mirror in your living room or dining room to reflect good luck and prosperity into the home.
· Prepare a festive dinner and invite your friends.
· Homemade sweets and cakes are essential to the New Year’s Eve meal. Dragon- shaped cookies are particularly fitting for the year of the Dragon and are thought to attract luck, prosperity, happiness, and good health in the coming year. So, include them in your feast and enjoy the sweet taste of good fortune.
· 2024 Wealth Bowl – place a glass or ceramic bowl (with coins) next to your house door. Every time you have loose change, place them in the Wealth Bowl to symbolically accumulate wealth.
· Make sure to fill the sugar box in the kitchen. This way, you will attract money and success in 2024.
The Tray of Togetherness
· The “Tray of Togetherness” is a traditional Chinese New Year delicacy; it is a tray filled with eight different types of snacks that symbolize abundance and prosperity. These snacks typically include pecan nuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, almonds, peach kernels, plums, apricots, walnuts, and small ingots. Sweets can also be added to the tray. This tray is often served to guests or given as a gift during the Chinese New Year celebrations, it is a symbol of sharing good fortune and abundance with loved ones.
· You must have these lucky fruits on the table on New Year’s Eve: pineapples, round fruits for endless prosperity, oranges for gold, grapes hanging on windows and door jambs, mango for strong family ties, and lemon to remove the negative vibes.
· On February 10, the first day of the Dragon Year of 2024, it is recommended to place a Laughing Buddha in the dining room. It will attract blessings and prosperity this year.
· Don’t lend money on New Year’s Eve because you will lose money all year round.
· At midnight, open the doors and windows for 10 minutes so that the passing year can let in the new coming year. Light fireworks on New Year’s Eve to scare away evil spirits.
· At midnight, a common practice is the “Flags of wishes” ritual: write down nine wishes on rectangular pieces of paper and hang them in a tree or taller plant outside (in the garden or on the deck); carried by the wind, it is said they will reach the sky faster, and they will get fulfilled during that respective year.
· In 2024, Star 5 or Wu Wang will be in the West. This annual affliction star brings all kinds of misfortune. Keep the sector very quiet to avoid activating it. Place the 5 Element Pagoda to suppress the negative chi.
· Place in the North-East corner (the corner of wealth), on a table or chair, a tray with 4 cups (full of tea) and a kettle of warm, sweet tea to invite into your home the four kings from the four corners, which will bring you luck throughout 2024.
· If you have an aquarium, the lucky number of fish in 2024 is 8: seven reddish goldfish and one blackfish. The reddish fishes symbolize prosperity, good fortune, and yang energy. The purpose of the blackfish is to absorb the negative energy from your house.
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· It is considered bad luck to greet someone in the bedroom; this is why everyone, even the sick, gets dressed and sits in the living room to welcome guests. During this day, knives or scissors are not used because there is a risk of accidentally “cutting” the luck.
· Your color preferences will reflect the love and peace you desire. It’s our energy that translates into the color we choose.
Traditionally, red is the lucky color to wear on this day (to attract peace and love). Red, orange, and yellow are all warm colors. Warm colors often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism, and energy.
· Moving 22 objects around the house will attract fortune. They don’t have to be big, just some objects you can easily change their place.
On Chinese New Year, buy lucky flowers or plants (orchids, hyacinths, peonies, lucky bamboo) and place them in your home to attract luck and prosperity in the coming year.
Each area of the house is characterized by one of the five elements, and therefore, it is good to be careful how we decorate the house for a good feng shui:
· earth elements are on the north-east, center, and south-west axis – in those sectors, it is advisable to put crystals, stones, and ceramics;
· the N-V and V areas are characterized by metal (we can use decorative metal elements);
· North is characterized by water;
· South – characterized by fire – is the area of fame, fame, and good reputation;
· The East (family and health area) and the South-East (wealth and prosperity area) are wood sectors.
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· Give red envelopes filled with money as gifts to children and unmarried adults, as it is believed to bring good luck and wealth.
· Avoid using negative words and phrases, as they are believed to bring bad luck.
To be lucky and get a better-paid job, you need to take 22 objects from the house and donate or sell them. Thus, you will free some space and attract new things.
Stepping into the Chinese New Year, it is befitting to send messages of thanks and wishes of health and happiness to your loved ones for the coming year. Here are some examples of auspicious greetings:
· “Wishing you Health, Happiness, and Success!”
· “Wishing you a Happy New Year with the hope that you will have many blessings in the year to come.”
· “Out with the old, in with the new: may you be happy the whole year through. Happy New Year!”
· Kung Hei Fat Choy / Gong Xi Fa Cai
Happy New Year of the Wood Dragon 2024!
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