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Pop Culture

Hilarious TikTok explains what NOT to do for the Lunar New Year

A good excuse to not clean. It's for luck!

lunar new year, year of the rabbit, chinese new year
@thekwendyhome/TikTok

Don't sweep your good fortunes away!

Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations among East and Southeast Asian cultures. Unlike the Gregorian New Year, which takes place for one night, Lunar New Year celebrations last for several days and involve centuries old traditions steeped in superstition. Even the most mundane of everyday activities, when done on Lunar New Year, could decide a person’s fate—for better or worse.

Luckily, home decor blogger Wendy has given us a perfect rundown of taboo activities to avoid this Lunar New Year and thwart ill tidings—in the form of one hilarious TikTok.

As Wendy explains in her caption, many customs are based not only in superstition, by a play on words. Washing your hair “washes” away your fortune, for example. Sweeping “sweeps” it all away. You get it.

There’s even caution against items that sound like Chinese words with a negative connotation—buying a book, which sounds like the word “lose” in Chinese, would bring bad luck. Similarly, buying shoes, which sounds like “rough” in Cantonese and “evil” in Mandarin, would be equally bad. There will be no trips to Barnes and Noble or Foot Locker during Lunar New Year. No sir.

While the education is already great, what makes this video next-level is the amazingly cartoonish slow motion chase scene happening the whole time on loop.

Watch:

@thekwendyhome What not to do on Lunar New Year. Inspired by: @thehustlingmama Most of these customs are based in superstition and a play on words! But I’ll take the excuse not to wash my hair or clean any day! Watching our expressions in slow motion really made us laugh out loud. Especially the scene where K runs with the knife and scissors. Which you should neverrrr do. This video took me much longer to edit with the “special effects” but I think it makes it funnier that we are chasing each other in a perpetual loop. #lunarnewyear#chinesenewyear#cny#cny2023#chineseculture#chinesecustom#chinesenewyear2023#yearoftherabbit♬ Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra

Wendy alluded to the video being a time consuming project—what with all the special edits—but man was it worth it. This is TikTok comedy at its finest.

The clip has already garnered over 195K views. Those familiar with the customs found it laughably relatable. One person wrote, “thank you! I was running them through my mind and this was a great mini refresher.”

Others marveled at just how many things could make a year go terribly, terribly wrong. “Well, I’ll just stay in bed and not do anything,” one person joked.


The Lunar New Year for 2023 will fall on Jan 22, transitioning away from the Year of the Tiger and into the Year of The Rabbit, which represents wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. Hey, if it means becoming rich this year, I suppose we can let the hair washing and sweeping slide for a day.

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Whether to spank your child or not is one of the oldest debates among parents. Many live by the age-old wisdom that to “spare the rod” is to “spoil the child,” while others believe it’s wrong to resort to violence to punish a child when so many alternatives exist.

It also begs the question: If it's wrong to hit your spouse or pet, why is it acceptable to hit a defenseless child?

The 2021 American Family Study found that support for spanking has declined in the U.S. over the past few years. In 2015, 54% either somewhat or strongly agreed with the practice, but that number dropped to 47% in 2021. Thirty-five percent of respondents disagree with the practice and 18% neither agree nor disagree.

A new research study from the Parent and Family Research Alliance in Australia led by Professor Sophie Havighurst and Professor Daryl Higgins from Australian Catholic University makes a strong case that people should stop using corporal punishment to discipline their kids. The study “Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform” analyzed countless studies on the topic and found spanking ineffective and harmful.

The study was published to urge lawmakers to make corporal punishment in Australia illegal. Sixty-five states across the world have made corporal punishment illegal, protecting 14% of the world’s children.

The study defined corporal punishment of children as using physical force to cause pain, but not injury, to correct or control a child’s behavior.

The most startling meta-analysis published in the study found that "only 1 out of 111 statistically significant effect sizes was associated with a link between 'spanking' and a positive child outcome," while 110 were found to be associated with adverse outcomes.

The one positive outcome was in a 1972 study of children of the U.S. military living in West Germany that found those spanked showed less amphetamine and opiate use as adults.

However, the remaining 110 significant results found that spanking had adverse effects, including: “reducing trust and connection with those they are closest to, lower self-esteem, more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems including aggression, mental health difficulties, and increased risk for later substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and violence.”

A meta-analysis found that when children are spanked, they are less likely to internalize the moral implications of the behaviors that led them to be disciplined. It also found that non-physical discipline was more effective at teaching “alternative behaviors,” “developing a child’s conscience,” and advancing their “emotional development.”

Another meta-analysis cited in the story found that corporal punishment in childhood was associated with mental health problems, low self-esteem and antisocial behavior.

In the end, the studies show that corporal punishment is counter-productive when it comes to raising healthy, happy children. But it will take much more than a study to get people to reconsider their views of corporal punishment because they are deeply rooted in many cultural traditions.

Looking for some non-physical alternatives to discipline your child? Here’s a great place to start from WebMD.

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