Going out is the activity of going out of the house to visit, congratulate, and give gifts to relatives, friends... on the first day of the new year.
Since ancient times, people have had the concept of "a smooth start and a smooth ending", meaning that if the first days of the new year are favorable, the whole year will be smooth and lucky. Therefore, before setting out, it is necessary to avoid and pay attention to certain things to have a smooth and favorable year in all aspects of life.
According to Professor Tu Thi Loan - Chairwoman of the Science and Training Council, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts, choosing an auspicious day and time to depart is extremely necessary.
"People often choose auspicious days and hours to start their journeys, spring travel... which is completely correct. These things have been accumulated by our ancestors through history and verified over time."
Going out on the first day of the year is to seek luck for yourself and your family, so you need to go out at the right time. If you go at an unlucky time, you will easily encounter bad luck and misfortune.
According to the professor, when going out, people should pay attention to their words, have a gentle attitude, control themselves, behave in a civilized manner, avoid arguing and collisions... on the road on the first day of the year.
In addition, below are things to avoid when traveling according to folklore:
Avoid wearing black and white clothes.
On Tet holiday, you should not wear black or white when going out because these two colors evoke pain, sadness, and loss. On the first days of the year, you should wear colors like red, yellow, green, etc. to bring luck, fortune, and wealth.
Avoid meeting "heavy" people
Since ancient times, people have believed that when leaving the house, they should first meet people with "light souls", people who are compatible with their age, have a generous, enthusiastic, cheerful, and easy-going personality to bring good luck, prosperity, and many advantages.
On the contrary, you should avoid meeting people with "heavy souls", people with bad health or luck, who are prone to bad luck and misfortune.
Avoid going out on the 5th.
Vietnamese folk songs say: "The fifth, fourteenth, twenty-third. Going out for fun is also a loss, let alone going to trade." Therefore, the fifth day is considered a taboo day to travel.
This depends on each person's school and work schedule. However, if possible, you should leave earlier to avoid the 5th, avoid crowds, jostling, and limit obstacles and bad luck.
Avoid bringing damaged or dirty items.
When going out on New Year's Day, you should avoid bringing torn, dirty or damaged items because they symbolize bad luck from the old year.
Bringing new, clean items not only shows neatness but also means bringing luck and prosperity for the new year.
Avoid going out in a bad mood
Going out at the beginning of the year should be in a relaxed and optimistic spirit to welcome good things, and at the same time make the surrounding atmosphere happy and comfortable.
On the contrary, avoid sadness, worry, anger, depression... because folklore believes that a bad mood can cause bad luck all year round.
Avoid going through places with bad energy.
One of the taboos when traveling at the beginning of the year is going through places with bad energy, symbolizing bad luck such as hospitals, cemeteries, and polluted areas.
You should choose to go to places that are airy, clean and have beautiful scenery for a smooth and lucky journey.
Professor Tu Thi Loan believes that Eastern sciences all have a certain probability of accuracy. They have been summarized through thousands of years of laws and must be reasonable to be believed and used until now.
Whether or not to follow depends on each person's concept, however, if we follow the conclusions of previous generations, it will help people's minds to be more peaceful and secure, as the saying goes: "If you worship, it will be sacred, if you abstain, it will be good".
