Chinese New Year: Four things you need to know about the Year of the Monkey
People born this year will be successful and impetuous (according to folklore)
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s Chinese New Year and celebrations to mark the Year of the Monkey have kicked off around the world.
But how much do you know about it?
It’s not actually a lucky year
Although people born in the Year of the Monkey are meant to be quick-witted, curious, and lively, it’s actually an unlucky year. Those born should be successful and career driven, but they’re likely to also be impetuous and have a short fuse. You’re a monkey if you were born in 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 and now 2016.
Some things you should avoid doing on Chinese New Year
There are a number of superstitions associated with Chinese New Year. Don’t take medicine on New Year's Day as - apparently - it means you'll be ill for the whole year. Don’t sweep anything either, or your wealth will be swept away too.
If you’re a woman, you absolutely should not leave the house! According to custom, if a woman leaves the house on New Year’s Day she will be plagued by bad luck for the whole year.
Bad luck also comes to those who do the laundry, wash their hair, and eat porridge.
Avoid unlucky colours
Monkeys are all about noble colours like blue and gold, but should avoid unlucky reds and pinks. Essential knowledge if you’re trying to buy a dress or are about to embark on an intricate painting-by-numbers session.
The shapeshifters are here
Monkeys are thought to be the modern version of our ancestors, so the shape-shifting monkeys masquerading as New Year decorations are probably ghosts of ancestors past. It’s not all good news - in Buddhism it’s thought that monkeys represent the foolishness of humans too.
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