【中国新年禁忌】：

　　Dos and Donts of Chinese New Year

　　Do's:

　　Wish everyone you meet a happy New Year by saying "gong xi fa cai", which translates to: "Have a happy and prosperous New Year!" 对每一个你遇到的人道一声：“恭喜发财”，翻译成英文就是：“在新的一年里拥有幸福繁荣的生活”;

　　Wear articles of red clothing because red symbolizes luck. 穿红色布料做成的饰品，因为红色昭示着幸运;

　　Eat vegetarian food because it's not good to see blood. 吃素食，因为见血是不吉利的;

　　Buy new trousers because the Chinese word for trousers is "fu", (Chinese homonym for wealth) 买新裤子(衣服)，因为汉语里裤子就是“服”，(在汉语里与财富的“富”谐音);

　　Children should stay up as late as possible on New Year's Eve for it is believed that the later they stay up, the longer their parents will live. 孩子应该在除夕之夜尽可能晚睡、熬夜因为据说他们睡的越晚，他们的父母越长寿;

　　Visit family (especially those older than yourself) and friends to pass on your wishes on good fortune for the New Year. (plus kids and single people will receive lai-see lucky red packets full of money. 拜访亲戚朋友(尤其是比你年长的)，传递你对他们来年幸福的美好祝愿(另外孩子和单身的人将会得到装满钱的幸运红包，称为“来喜”。)

　　Give two lai see to each child. Because happiness comes in two's, do not just give one. This is your way of passing good luck to the next generation. Business owners also give lai see to employees and associates. 给每个孩子两份“来喜”(我觉得应该指钱是偶数的)，因为好事成双，不要只给一份。这是你把祝愿传递给下一代的方法。企业主(老板)也要给员工和同事红包。

　　Don'ts:

　　Don't wear white or black clothing, since they are the traditional colours of mourning. 不要穿白色或黑色服装，因为这是传统意义上丧事的颜色;

　　Don't buy new shoes for the first month of the New Year, because the sound of shoe in Chinese is "hai". "Hai" is similar to the sound of sighing, which Chinese believe is not a good way to start the year. 不要在新年的第一个月买新鞋，因为在汉语里鞋的发音是“孩”(好像是四川地区的发音)， 它与叹息”唉“相近，中国人认为这不是新年伊始的好兆头。

　　Don't wash your hair for the first three days of the New Year, because the Chinese word for hair is a homonym for the Chinese word for wealth. Therefore, Chinese believe it isn't a good thing to 'wash away your wealth' right at the start of the New Year. 在新年的前三天里不要洗头，因为汉语里“头发”的“发”和“发财”的“发”同音。因此，中国认为在新年伊始把财富给冲走可不是好兆头。

　　Floors may not be swept and garbage may not be disposed of on the first day of the New Year for fear of casting riches out the door. 在新年第一天，不拖地，不扔垃圾，因为怕把"财"给送走了;

　　Don't swear or quarrel. 不要诅咒发誓，也不愿吵架;

　　Don't break any dishes, otherwise you may incur more misfortune for the New Year. In the event of breaking a dish, quickly say " Peace for all time", and the bad luck will be warded away. 不要打破碗碟，否则在来年你可能会遭遇不幸。一旦打破了，要马上说“岁岁平安”，这样坏运气就会被赶走了;

　　Don't greet people who are in mourning. 不要向服丧期的人们问候(主要指不要说喜庆的话吧?)

　　Don't drop your chopsticks. 不要让筷子掉地上;

　　Don't say the number 'four' (Chinese homonym for death) or mention death. 不要说数字“四”(汉语里和“死”谐音)或者提到死;

　　Don't borrow or lend money. 不要借钱也不要借给别人钱

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（编辑：杨帆）