"Broken Five" Festival
Spring
Festival is a festive holiday, but it traditionally also
had a number of strict rules. For instance, women were not allowed to go out to
pay New Year's calls. On New Year's Day, women were not allowed to visit their
parents; children were not allowed to cry or make noise; no one, old or young,
was allowed to utter any inauspicious words; and it was forbidden to quarrel
with neighbors. Also, it was forbidden to break any tools or furniture, or to
seek the services of a doctor on this day. From New Year's Day through the
fourth day of the new year, it was forbidden to do needlework, use scissors, or
sweep the floor. It was not allowed to eat thin porridge on New Year's Day.
These are just some of the various strictures and taboos surrounding this
holiday. However, on the fifth day of the new year, all of the rules could be
broken. As a result, the fifth day of the new year is popularly called Powu, or
"Broken Five."
After "Broken Five," normal household tasks such as cooking can be taken up
again. Usually the first thing that people make is jiaozi (stuffed dumplings).
Shaped like the gold and silver ingots that served as money in ancient China,
making dumplings symbolizes achieving prosperity. Starting on the fifth day of
the new year, it is finally allowed to take out the garbage. This is also the
day on which the offerings are taken off the altar. It is also the birthday of the Five Gods of Wealth.
Merchants make offerings to the God of Fortune and Profit, and take down the paper seals that had barred access to their businesses during the
holiday. The mood is festive as shops open for business again, and red banner
flutter from signboards everywhere.
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