Chinese New Year (of the Rat) - 2008

“A Rat Year is a time of hard work,
activity, and renewal. This is a good year to get married, launch a product or
make a fresh start.”

Good
luck

• Opening
  windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
  
  
• Switching on
  the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and
  spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
  
  
• Sweets are
  eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
  
• It is
  important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New
  Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below,
  cleaning the house after New
  Year's Day is frowned upon)
  
• Some believe
  that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year
  to come. Asians will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get
  luck and prosperity.
  
• Wearing a
  new pair of slippers that is bought before
  the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
  
  
• The night
  before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that
  you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.

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