Here is a list of 40 classic Chinese superstitions:

When having a baby

  • If you’re pregnant, use of glue will cause a difficult birth.
  • If you strike an animal during pregnancy, the newborn child will look like that animal and behave like one.
  • You should never praise a newborn baby because it will invite evil spirits and ghosts.
  • A concave navel means a prosperous life.
  • A baby with more than one hair crown will be mischievous and disobedient.
  • A baby with wide and thick ears will live prosperously.

Before you get married

  • Wedding clothes should be red, yellow and/or white.
  • Wearing black, blue or gray will bring bad luck to the marriage.
  • Couples with the same surname cannot marry; even if they are not related, they still belong to the same ancestry.
  • A boy, preferably born a Dragon, must roll over the newlywed’s matrimonial bed to ensure good luck and a baby boy.
  • Never marry someone who is older or younger by 3 or 6 years.

Good Feng Shui

  • The number of steps in a staircase should be even-numbered.
  • It is bad luck to have two room doors face each other.
  • It is bad luck if your door or gate directly faces a road.
  • Don’t build your house facing the north.
  • The master’s bedroom should not be situated right above the garage.
  • The dining area should not be under a second-floor toilet.

Going to funerals

  • An improper funeral will bring ill fortune and disaster.
  • Statues of deities must be covered with red cloth of paper.
  • Mirrors must be hidden; a person who sees the reflection of the coffin will have a death in his/her family.
  • White cloth must be hung across the doorway of the house.
  • The deceased’s children and grandchildren should not cut their hair for 49 days.
  • After leaving a wake, do not go straight home lest the ghost of the dead follows you.

Lucky and unlucky colors

  • Red is the color of blood or life and will bring happiness, wealth, fame, and good luck.
  • Black is the color of feces and is associated with evil, disaster and bad fortune.
  • White is the color of mother’s milk. It symbolizes moderation, purity, honesty and life and balances red and black.

Lucky and unlucky numbers

  • The luckiest number is eight because its Chinese word also means “prosper”.
  • The unluckiest number is four as it sounds like the Chinese word for death.
  • Seven can also signify death.
  • The number one means loneliness.
  • The number “9″ is good, because nine in Cantonese sounds like the word “sufficient”.

About time

  • Clipping toenails or fingernails at night is bad luck; the person will be visited by a ghost.
  • If a dog howls continuously at night, this means death.
  • Hearing a crow cawing between 3 and 7 am means the hearer will receive gifts; hearing a crow caw between 7 and 11am means rain and wind; and between 11am and 1pm means quarrels.
  • If a man’s ears burn between 11pm and 1pm, there will be harmony between him and his wife; if they burn between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, a guest will soon arrive.

Things you should never do

  • Beating a person with a broom will rain bad luck upon that person for years.
  • Wearing a moustache is considered bad luck.
  • Never point at the moon or your ears might get chopped off.
  • Don’t sweep the floor on New Year’s Day lest you sweep away the good fortune.
  • Don’t keep a pet turtle or it will slow down your business.

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