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Don’t Clean the House and Dump Trash in the First 3 Days of Lunar New Year: What If You Do It Intentionally?

Surely, everyone is familiar with the taboo of not sweeping the house or throwing away garbage during the first three days of the Lunar New Year. But why does this tradition exist?

Administrator

11 February, 2024

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Origin of the tradition of not sweeping the house on Tet

The tradition of not sweeping the house and throwing away trash during the days of Tet originated from a story in China recorded in the “Sưu thần ký”. According to the story, a merchant named Âu Minh was passing by Thanh Thảo Lake when he was gifted a servant named Như Nguyệt by the water deity. After Như Nguyệt had been brought home for a few years, Âu Minh started prospering and became very wealthy.

One day, on the first day of Tet, for reasons unknown, Âu Minh hit Như Nguyệt and she got scared and hid in a pile of trash in the corner of the house. Âu Minh’s wife, unaware of Như Nguyệt’s presence, unintentionally swept the house and threw away the pile of trash with Như Nguyệt inside. As a result, Âu Minh’s household became poor again. It is believed that Như Nguyệt was actually a talented deity and was placed on the ancestral altar for worship (which is why the altar to the deity of wealth is often placed in the corner of the house). Since then, there has been the tradition of not sweeping the house for the first three days of the year, as people fear that they might sweep away the hidden wealth and hinder their business, causing it to be unsuccessful and unlucky for the entire year.

The legend of the broom in Vietnam

Legend has it that there was a woman in the sky who was skilled at cooking, so Ngọc Hoàng assigned her the task of taking care of cooking. However, the woman had a habit of eating and stealing. She fell in love with an old horseman from the celestial realm and often stole wine and meat to secretly give to him. Not only that, she also brought the old man into the wine cellar and indulged him in the heavenly delicacies. The servants in the celestial realm, including Ngọc Hoàng himself, all had their own food and were strictly forbidden from touching the celestial dishes, even if there were leftovers.

One day, when Ngọc Hoàng was hosting a feast for the gods, as the table was being set, the woman heard the old horseman singing from afar. Knowing that the old man was looking for her, she quickly rushed out to welcome and hide him in a corner of the kitchen. In the darkness, on a nearby table, there were many delicious and fragrant dishes. Being hungry at the time, the old man started to touch and pick at the food. When the servants inadvertently served the celestial dishes, every bowl brought to the table seemed to have been tasted before.

Unable to contain his anger, Ngọc Hoàng, the Heavenly Emperor, saw what happened. Afterwards, the woman who was in charge of cooking lowered her head in confession and was banished to the mortal realm, forced to become a broom to constantly work without rest and look for food in the dirty and filthy trash of the mortal world.

Later on, seeing that the prisoners suffered year-round without holidays, Ngọc Hoàng showed mercy and ordered a three-day break in a year. Those three days are the first three days of the Lunar New Year, which is why during the Lunar New Year, there is the tradition of not sweeping the house, so that the broom can rest.

Is it necessary to avoid sweeping the house during Tet nowadays?

Tet is the time when we entertain guests, eat candies, bite melon seeds, fruits… So usually during Tet, there will be a lot of trash, burst balloons, seed shells, candy wrappers… Although many people do not believe in the above story, there is a saying that “anything related to religious belief, there is no right or wrong.” Sometimes, it enters the consciousness of many people and does not harm anyone, so they still perform the cleaning ritual, but will keep the trash in a corner of the house instead of throwing it away, and will not sweep it out through the door. This means that the trash is still contained within the house, making it tidy, but there is still a hiding place for the deity of wealth, keeping the prosperity in the house.

Furthermore, many homeowners who arrange dishes to entertain guests always have extra empty dishes for seed shells, sunflower seed shells, and candy wrappers, so that they will not make a lot of mess on the floor, or they lay a carpet so that it is easier to gather the trash.

In cultural and daily life, there are things related to beliefs, so there is no need to determine right or wrong. Sometimes, it enters the consciousness of many people and does not harm anyone, so they follow the teachings of their ancestors in order to have a peaceful mind and feel at ease welcoming a new year.

After the third day, people can clean the house, transform it into gold, bid farewell to the ancestral spirits, and start their journey to enter a new year with awaiting tasks to welcome fortune, turning actions into assets for the new year.