The Year of the Monkey is coming to an end and in just a few days we will usher in the Year of the Rooster!

In countries that follow the lunar calendar, today is the traditional cleansing day to prepare for the new year. Do you know why it has to be today?

In ancient times, this cleaning day symbolized a ritualistic cleansing of evil spirits and bad luck accumulated in the past year.

In Chinese culture, families would wait until the 20th day of the last lunar month before the new year to perform the cleaning. They consider this as a polite gesture to pay their respects to the God of Hearth-as this is the day when he departs from the human's world and submits his reports on each household to the Jade Emperor in heaven.

Today, many still continue the ritual as a preparation for visits from friends and family in the new year. In fact, there are new meanings to the term “traditional cleansing”, such as for people to clear out negative thoughts before the start of a new year or to clean unwanted apps off their devices!

Come back for more updates about Lunar New Year traditions tomorrow!