Want To Start The New Year Right? 6 CNY Practices That M’sians Can Do To Get More ‘Ong’

With Chinese New Year lurking just around the corner, it’s no surprise that many Malaysians have started making preparations to celebrate the occasion. But we also know that CNY is a symbolic festivity and it’s important to abide by certain do’s and don’ts during this time.

Thus, in order to help you kickstart the new year on the right foot, we’ve compiled a few important practices that Malaysians can do to welcome an ong-some year ahead!

1. Clean up your house BEFORE Chinese New Year

Doing a good and thorough spring cleaning before CNY will act as a clean slate as you have gotten rid of all the bad luck that you might have accumulated in the house. This will invite new hope and aspiration into your home with the new year.

However, whatever you do, DO NOT clean your home (or sweep it) especially on the first three days of CNY as you will be seen as “sweeping away” the good luck.

2. Decorate your house with a ‘vase for wealth’

If you’ve never heard of it before, a ‘vase for wealth‘ is a Feng Shui principle that is used to promote wealth in the house. Before CNY, you can prepare the vase by filling it up with different ingredients that symbolise wealth such as gemstones, currencies from different countries, gold bars, and so forth. Then, you need to place it in the middle of your house.

However, if you don’t have a vase, you can also get a glass or a ceramic bowl (which are also symbols of wealth) and fill it up with coins. But for this, you should place it at the door of your house instead to ‘invite’ prosperity.

3. Serve a whole chicken and/or fish during reunion dinner

CNY dishes would often hold some special meaning. For example, it is seen as good luck to serve whole chicken or whole fish dishes at the reunion dinner which is supposed to represent wholeness and prosperity.

It is also important to serve the fish with its tail and head in order to symbolise a good beginning and end – something that we’d all wish for during the new year.

4. Stay up late after Chinese New Year Eve dinner

Apart from being a good time to bond with your family, staying up late post-CNY reunion dinner is also seen as a way to elongate the lifespan of your parents. So, the longer you stay up, the longer they’ll live!

But if you’re planning to stay up late, make sure not to do so in the dark! Instead, turn on all the lights in the house to chase away all the bad luck and invite good luck and prosperity into your home as we gear up for a ‘bright’ new year ahead.

5. Pay up all the bills or debt you might have borrowed

If you have any bills due or money owed, it would be a great idea to pay them off before CNY day!

This is seen as an auspicious thing to do in order to start the new year fresh on a clean slate. It is also believed that if you start the new year with debts, you will spend the rest of the year the same way! So, if you have any old friends who’d contact you a few days prior to CNY just to pay off their debts, don’t be surprised!

6. Wear brand new clothes preferably in the colour red 

Wearing new clothes from head to toe acts like a fresh start which will bring in new hope for the new year. And it would be double the ‘ong‘ if you get them in the colour red as it symbolises good luck, happiness and longevity. Most importantly, DO NOT wear black as it is the colour worn to funerals.

If you’re reading this and you have nothing new or red in colour in your wardrobe, make sure to do some CNY shopping soon! You can head over to MyTOWNKL as they will have everything you need for a good CNY celebration. In fact, they even have some special CNY activities planned!

This Lunar New Year, MyTOWNKL is bringing us a Spring Splendour celebration with beautiful decor, special performances and an exclusive redemption programme!

Yup, that’s right! If you’re yearning to feel the festive vibes of CNY, just head over to MyTOWNKL where they are ushering in the Year of the Tiger with their Spring Splendour decorations!

What’s exciting is that they’ll also be having some stellar traditional performances that you definitely do not want to miss! Better mark your calendars and save the date to see these amazing performances:

• Lion Dance & God of Prosperity: 22, 23, 29 & 30 January, 5 & 6 February at 3PM
• Flower Dance Performance: 22, 23, 29 & 30 January, 5 & 6 February at 5PM, 1 & 2 February at 12PM
• Acrobatic Lion Dance Performance: 1 & 2 February at 5PM

Make sure to swing by MyTOWNKL to catch these performances! Don’t say we bojio, okay! 

Not only that, MyTOWNKL has more treats in store for you! If you’ve already gotten their app and you have some points accumulated, this is your chance to redeem the points with these exclusive CNY items! Here’s what you can get for your points:

• 88 points – Fortune pack
• 368 points – Thermal bowl + 1x Fortune pack
• 428 points – Tote bag + 1x Fortune pack
• 688 points – Prosperity pack (1x Tote bag + 1x Thermal bowl + 1x Fortune pack)

If you don’t have the app, don’t worry. It’s never too late! Simply download their app from the App Store or Google Play and start collecting points now!

Doesn’t this all sound super exciting? ? Our Malaysian CNY will not be complete without going to the mall and viewing the beautiful decorations as well as watching some enthralling lion dance performances! So, make sure to make your way to MyTOWNKL where you can also get all of your CNY necessities in one place!

For more information, you can visit their website here, and make sure to also follow them on Facebook and Instagram to get all the latest updates!