There are traditionally many taboos associated with the New Year Festival, but in recent years some of them have been discarded, especially among urban populations in larger cities. Examples of typical New Year taboos are the following: on the first day of the new year, a woman may not leave her house, otherwise she will be plagued with bad luck for the entirety of the coming year; a married daughter is not allowed to pay a visit to the house of her parents as a visit from a married daughter on this day is believed to bring bad luck to the parents, causing economic hardship for the family; the act of sweeping on this day is associated with sweeping wealth away, therefore Chinese people do not sweep their house on this day.
During the New Year Festival season (from the 1st to 15th of the Lunar New Year) the following taboos apply: the cry of a child is believed to bring bad luck to the family, so parents do their best to keep children from crying by whatever means possible; the act of breaking tools or other equipment during this period is associated with a loss of wealth for the coming year, therefore tradesmen and business people in general take great precaution to avoid damaging their tools and equipment; a visit to the hospital during this period is believed to bring illness to the person in question for the duration of coming year, therefore visits to the hospital are avoided except in cases of extreme emergency.
