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Cina: da un posto qualsiasi..

There are superstitions in every country, whether it is the way you act like opening an umbrella inside, bringing bad luck, or when something random happens, like a black cat crossing the road.

Even though most don't believe in these events which are said to influence your day-to-day life, these superstitions are often linked with history and legends.

China is no different:
there are many things which are said to bring good or bad luck, particularly when dealing about wealth and some are linked to childhood stories most Chinese kids know.

As some of you may travel to China, it is important to be aware of certain superstitions to be on the safe side, and even if you aren't, it is always interesting to read about things that are integral to each country's culture.

1.Red
Any Chinese superstition list could start without the color red, which always seen at celebrations and had become a symbol of China.

But what is the reason for the Chinese's love for this color?

There is an ancient story of a beast called Nian, which would spread fear amongst villages and ea crops and some people.

It came every year during spring.

The villagers eventually realized that the beast was scared of loud noises, fire and the color red, thus they had fireworks and red lanterns, papers, clothes, and more.

This story is also one of the origins of the Spring Festival, when Chinese play with firecrackers, bang drums and wear red to frighten the beast.
For this reason, red is considered good luck as it sends the beasts away.

2. Cleaning the house on New Year Day Still on the theme of the Spring Festival, some households believe that cleaning the house during the first day of the New Year is bad luck;
by cleaning it you are removing the good luck, happiness, wealth and all the good wishes you received during New Year's Eve, leaving you with everything bad.

Even though this belief isn't as widespread as the first superstition, it is still quite popular.

3. Numbers Numbers are quite important in Chinese beliefs.
The number eight for example, is the official number of good luck in Chinese culture.

This is because the pronunciation of eight in Chinese, 'ba' is very similar to the word meaning wealth, which is 'fa'.

Chinese has four different tones, and the word meaning four is 'si' on the fourth tone, but if pronounced on the third tone is means death.

Needless to say, it brings extremely bad luck in China, so much that some buildings don't have a fourth floor and go directly from three to five.

Some hotel rooms will skip the number four in room numbers (902, 903, 905), and many will avoid to choose the number four for their car plates and phone numbers.

4. Feng Shui
The 'Feng Shui, meaning 'Wind-Water' in English, is a system of arranging everything so it is in harmony with the environment.

It counts as a superstition because it isn't scientifically proven and it examines forces linking the universe.

Closely related to Taoism, many arrange living and working areas which attracts positive energy, also knowing as the qi into your life.

For example, when placing the bed in hotel rooms, some hotels will make sure to place the bed on the wall diagonally opposite the door, meaning that you can see anyone entering the room.

There are so many varying beliefs and superstitions all over China, and they are all special.

These are only a handful of them.

I encourage you to research your culture, because there will always be something surprising and interesting come up :)

Cortesia di L.B.

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