Chinese New Year: The Habit of Luck

I consider myself a fairly auspicious person. I care about little nuances that my culture taught me growing up, not because I necessarily I believe in what they can cause, but simply because I believe ultimately, they are good for me.

If you had met me before Covid, I would tell you that those things are stupid and I would probably even mock you for saying such things (sorry, mom!)

Every Chinese New Year, the idea of being auspicious becomes central. Most of us, cut our hair before the year begins, and we would clean our houses thoroughly before the celebration arrives. We sorted through old items that are being discarded, and buy new clothes with colors that we normally wouldn’t wear. Another thing we do is we avoid certain words and energy that are deemed negative, like poverty, hardships, anger, jealousy, etc. We would try to include  prosperous phrases deliberately and of course, the red color is central in signifying good luck.

From the outside (or even inside), it can look like a collection of superstitions tied to fear of bad luck and obsession with wealth, but I have always believed there is something more deliberate happening beneath these rituals.

Auspicious practices, in my view, function as a structured reset, or as my friend Dydy would call it “manifesting the life you want”.

These traditions are not made by random choices, but I believe they form a system that nudges behavior change at the exact moment a new year begins

For example, when someone cuts their hair before Chinese New Year, it is often explained as removing bad luck, yet what actually happens is psychological and even scientific. A fresh haircut makes a person look sharper, more confident and cleaner. You’re looking better starting the new year, and it subtly changes posture and confidence. It creates a sense of renewal, an internal shift that produces new energy and the so-called removal of bad luck is, in practical terms, the removal of stagnation.

The same applies to cleaning the house. The language used may refer to sweeping away misfortune, but if you really think about it the tangible outcome is order. Many of us, especially with the pressure of modern life and jobs have no time to declutter our homes and environment. I believe this tradition focuses you to finally get your life in order again, and it is very much intentional. Environmental psychology has long shown that physical order influences mental clarity.

So, when the year begins in a cleaner, more structured setting, the mind mirrors that structure. If you’re not a fan of spiritual explanation, this, at its core, is actually behavioral alignment.

LUCK & WEALTH AS MOTIVATION

Chinese culture attaches these resets to two emotionally powerful concepts: luck and wealth.

Prosperity is treated seriously, not casually, with a focus of financial stability, reputation, and upward movement. Bad luck is not dismissed as coincidence but regarded as something that must be actively avoided.

By linking behavioral discipline to prosperity and fear of loss, the culture creates powerful motivation. When people believe that negative words may invite misfortune, they monitor their speech more carefully, we are more mindful. When they believe a messy start may influence the year ahead, they clean more diligently.

What about red or the colorful colors that we buy for our new clothes? Do they really attract luck? Besides the historical significance of the color red in Chinese culture (google it), wearing bright colors is proven to uplift mood and overall positive attitude.

The symbolism in Chinese culture strengthens optimism, compliance and discipline.

For at least one week, speech becomes more intentional. Conflict is minimized, blessings are spoken openly, generosity through angpao reinforces the act of giving and sense of optimism is rehearsed collectively (something we desperately need). These behaviors are not passive but are cultivated through a temporary environment of positivity and forward orientation.

In that sense, being auspicious may not be about controlling fate. It may be about controlling habits at a culturally significant moment and these rituals create a psychological shift that encourages sharper self-presentation, cleaner environments, and more disciplined language. When maintained, these elements naturally contribute to better decisions, and when better decisions accumulate over time, it becomes accumulated discipline. This often appears indistinguishable from what people call “luck”.

Chinese New Year, then, can be understood not merely as a celebration of fortune but as a structured opportunity to realign behavior.

The symbolism surrounding luck and wealth provides urgency and the rituals provide momentum. Whether one interprets the outcomes as spiritual or practical, I believe the underlying mechanism remains consistent: positive habits reinforced collectively. If those habits persist, prosperity is less mysterious and more predictable.

And here's me on a fire horse, blazing through the riches this year is going to bring.

Today, I do not see auspicious rituals as magical guarantees of wealth or protection from misfortunes. I see them as intentional practices that shape my behavior at the beginning of every year, and if being a little more mindful, a little more disciplined, and a little more optimistic is what my culture calls being auspicious, then I am more than willing to embrace it.

Because sometimes, what we call luck is simply the quiet result of habits we chose to keep.

So, Happy Chinese New Year to all of you reading this. May you and your loved ones prosper.