10 Chinese Customs and Ritual For Moving into a New House

You might be excited about moving into a new house, but you should follow Chinese customs to perform the ritual correctly. Want to clear the space and the possibly leftover negative chi of the previous owner? Even if the home is brand new, people still believe that there is a need to follow these Chinese customs. Furthermore, this ritual ensures that your stay is a harmonious and auspicious tenure. Moving home represents a fresh new start beginning, so it is essential to have a bright start (乔迁之喜) in the next stage of your life.

Table of Contents

1. Auspicious Date Selection
2. Move House Ceremony is Only for Occupants
3. Words of positivity
4. Don’t Get Angry
5. Turn on Everything
6. No Nap Please
7. Bring Along a Rice Urn of Good Fortune
8. Get Yourself New Cleaning Equipments
9. Ensure that Your Hands are Full
10. Use Your Stove on the First Day

1. Auspicious Date Selection

Choosing an auspicious date and time based on the Chinese Almanac (通胜) is a traditional practice for important milestones of your life, such as weddings, moving into a new home, starting a business, or important ceremonies. The purpose is to align these events with favourable cosmic energies to enhance harmony, prosperity, and well-being.

The Chinese Almanac provides guidelines and recommendations for selecting suitable dates based on astrological calculations, including factors like the Chinese zodiac signs, the Five Elements (五行), and the interactions between these elements. You must consider the birth date/time (八字) of family members, especially the head of the family, which can influence the overall outcome of the event.

For those who are not well-versed in these practices, you can seek the guidance of a qualified professional or a Feng Shui practitioner who specializes in Chinese metaphysics and can provide valuable insights and assistance in selecting the most suitable auspicious date and time for your move-in dates.

2. Move House Ceremony is Only for Occupants

When coming to the move-in ceremony, it is strictly reserved for immediate family members and should not include guests. However, you can hold a housewarming party later if you wish to have one.

3. Words of positivity

This Chinese tradition of move house ritual intends to create a positive and harmonious atmosphere during the move and to set a tone of optimism and hope for the future. Therefore, On the day of moving, always say something auspicious, such as ” “May our home be filled with wealth and abundance” and avoid anything negative.

4. Don’t Get Angry

Moving into a new home is a significant event that marks a fresh beginning, and maintaining a positive and peaceful atmosphere can contribute to a smooth transition and a positive start in your new living space.

Therefore, refrain from getting angry, quarrelling, fighting, scolding children, throwing a temper or crying on the moving in day. These actions symbolize unhappiness and unharmonious in the family and set a bad start to the new beginning.

5. Turn on Everything

You should light up all corners of the house and turn on water pipes, gas and electrical appliances to declare your new home’s preparedness and perfect function.

6. No Nap Please

Do not take an afternoon nap on your new house move-in day, as it symbolizes laziness and illness.

7. Bring Along a Rice Urn of Good Fortune

Place a ceremonial red packet at the bottom of your rice urn, then fill it up with rice to the brim and stick a red and gold sticker that denotes ‘Fullness’ (满). You might also want to know the best material for a rice container.

8. Get Yourself New Cleaning Equipments

Buy new brooms and mops. Because you are moving into a new space, you will not want to “sweep in your old troubles” with the broom from your last house. Do not place the old broom in the garage, either. Throw it away or leave it at the old house. Buy a new mop too.

9. Ensure that Your Hands are Full

Do not enter the house empty-handed, so every family member should bring items with auspicious meanings. For example, it includes fresh fruits like oranges (for prosperity), apples (for safety), pineapple (for good fortune), pomegranate (for opportunities) and peaches (for good health).

Furthermore, you can also bring something valuable like gold, saving books and anything that symbolize good fortune.

10. Use Your Stove on the First Day

Switching on and using your stove and cooking some desserts on the first day of moving into a new home is a common cultural practice in certain Asian traditions. This act symbolizes “開火” (kāi huǒ), which translates to “kindling the fire.” It can help to bring warmth, prosperity, and positive energy into the new living space.

Congratulation on moving into your new home, and wishing you a have an auspicious and fresh beginning.