CHINESE RITUALS FOLLOWED WHEN MOVING HOUSES

In Chinese culture, there are tons of customs to perform for various occasions. But one of the most important occasions to practice these rituals is when you’ve just moved into a new home.

Moving into a new house is an important occasion, one that signals new beginnings, providing homeowners with an opportunity to invite wealth and good luck into their lives.

While most people celebrate a new home with a housewarming party or with a quiet dinner with family in the new neighbourhood, Chinese rituals for moving into a new house requires some very unique and specific practices. Superstitious? Yes. Fun? Definitely!

If you’ve just bought a new house, would you pass up an opportunity to bring in greater prosperity? Check out these 10 Chinese rituals for moving into a new house:

6 Chinese Rituals for Moving Into a New House

1. Leave the lights on for 3 days straight

3 days prior to the day you move in, every light in the house should be turned on and left on until the day you arrive. This is so that your new place can fill up with “yang” energy, as walking into a new house filled with “yin” energy could spell bad luck.

If you feel like this is a little too obsessive or wasteful, then you can go with the cheaper and more cost-effective alternative of switching on the lights just a day before you arrive, and leaving them on the entire day of your move-in date.

 2. Roll a pineapple around the house

Yes, you read that right. From the moment you open the main front door, you have to literally roll a pineapple around your home. Keep in mind that you should be rolling the fruit with your hands, and not kicking it around with your feet.

Also, to add to the ridiculousness, you’ll need to roll the pineapple around while saying casual celebratory phrases of good fortune and prosperity. Traditionally, these phrases should be in Mandarin and can be searched online, but if you can’t speak Mandarin, you can also just call out phrases in English like, “more money!” or “good health!” as you roll the pineapple on the floor. As far as Chinese rituals for moving into a new house goes, this one is bound to get a few chuckles out of even your most superstitious relative.

3. Carry something auspicious inside

While you’re rolling the pineapple to attract wealth, family members should help you out and attract even more wealth by carrying something auspicious inside the house. By “auspicious” this usually means—yes, you guessed it—more fruits. The usual items to bring are fresh fruits that symbolise different blessings, such as:

• Oranges = symbolises prosperity
• Pomegranates = symbolises opportunities
• Peaches = symbolises good health
• Apples = symbolises safety

If for some reason you’re sick of fruits, you can also carry in feng shui coins, or even a handbag with lots of money inside. The emphasis of this ritual is that no one’s hands should be empty as they enter the room. And yes, playing a game on your phone counts as having your hands empty.

Preferably, the breadwinner of the family should carry a big plate filled with fresh fruits in both hands, but if the breadwinner of the family is busy rolling a pineapple around the floor, the task can be delegated to the next most authoritative person. The person rolling the pineapple and the person carrying the fresh fruits should be the first and second people to enter the house, respectively.

Once inside, all the fruits/items should then be placed on a table, usually the dining table.

4. Open all the doors and windows

After placing the fruits inside, open all the doors and windows of your home.

Chinese rituals for moving into a new house revolve a lot around “yang” energy, and one of the customs that follow after ushering auspicious items into the house is to open all the doors and windows of your new space.

Aside from welcoming fresh air and sunlight inside, this practice allows “qi” or positive yang energy to renew itself and flow throughout the house.

5. Turn on the stove and all the water taps

Proclaim the functionality of your new home by turning on all the water taps, gas pipes, and electrical appliances! Leave them on for just 3 minutes lest you burn the whole house down. Doing this ensures that the various sectors of your home are “activated” and have energy flowing through them.

This ritual also allows the house to “introduce” itself to the environment, welcoming even more auspicious chi to come in.

(It’s also a great way to check if everything in your new place is working well.)

6. Cook a meal and eat it with family

Arguably the best custom out of the bunch, the concluding Chinese ritual for moving into a new house is to bond with your family over a delicious home-cooked meal.

The meal should be cooked in your new place and served with Chinese tea. This practice symbolises the sharing of wealth among family members and is a nice way to celebrate your new place with your friends and family.

Welcome to Your New Home!

Moving into a new house usually sounds stressful, but with interesting customs like these, moving in can be incredibly fun—especially when with friends and family.

But if you want to skip the stress of moving in and jump straight into the fun stuff, then don’t hesitate to book with TheLorry! Our network of expert movers will make sure your things are swiftly delivered to your new place, letting you save your moving-in energy for attracting all that auspicious yang energy. Happy moving!