Seriously, get rid of the old, make room for the new!! - 除chú夕xì

Seriously, get rid of the old, make room for the new!! - 除chú夕xì

Now that the gods are away, we can finally whip out the mops, brooms and dusters and get ready for a rattle and hum!  Since old must go in order to make way for the new, the house will need to be spic and spam in order to renew the good fortunate for the coming year.
Comparing to the spring cleaning of the west, the New Year’s Eve cleaning is equally important.  We call the cleaning 扫sǎo除chú - whether new year's eve or daily cleaning - 扫sǎo refers to using broomstick to sweep the floors, and除chú means to get rid of (things, people….).  The idea is to sweep away the bad fortune from this passing year and get rid of the ill fate.  Each of the family members is to participate so that the cleaning not only is for the whole family but for each member as well.  Basically, we are using this to deeply reflect on our old behaviors and make a new resolution to the newer, better behaviors or improvement.  In a way, 扫sǎo除chú not only cleans the entire household, but the dark corners of our minds as well.
When we talked about housing cleaning can only commence after 送sòng神shén ceremony is accomplished, we mainly refer to the cleaning of the shrine (神shén位wèi) in the house.  The shrine in each household is there for the ancestors as well as the god(s).  It is essentially the ‘home’.  For example, when Chinese move their houses, they would seek the advice of a fortune teller, a 风fën水sŭi master, for the best time to move out of the old house and entering the new one.  Many of you who actually have the experience living in a Chinese environment would feel strange to observe the moving either is done way before the announced moving date or after.  The shrine in the household is the reason why.  The best time is for moving the shrine, the essence or the spirit of the ‘home’.  As long as the shrine is not relocated, the actual house moving is not commenced and/or completed.
Of course this large scale cleaning cannot be accomplished in one single day.  Normally the household begins with the preparation as early as the beginning of lunar December.  Every corner of the house: spider webs, rusty steel rails, faded wall paints, broken windows, things that piled up in the hidden basement corners, etc, are dusted, recoated, replaced or sorted.  Things that are no longer in use but are still in usable conditions will be gathered and given to the people who are in need. 
 At the same time, mothers are shopping and preparing food for the 15 days celebration.  During which, they also need to shop for new clothing and new shoes, so that not only the house will have a new look, each member of the family will also have a new set of wardrobe in welcoming a brighter new year.
And finally, the big day comes.
Don’t know about you, but I am exhausted already……

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