Chinese New Year 2026 Year of the Horse

 Happy Year of the Horse!!  I spent New Year Eve cooking with my mom~
Originally she planned eight dishes as there's only two of us, then yesterday it expanded to ten dishes, and by the time we were done cooking, there were twelve 😹

We started cooking a bit after 2pm and it took probably 5 hours?  I mostly helped with chopping and washing dishes and a bit of helping with the cooking part.  The one dish I was fully in charge of was the three cups frog!

It was a lovely and tasty dinner!  We are going to be eating this for DAYS!

Also took out the trash before midnight as it's unlucky to take out trash on the first day of the new year. 

After 拜年 (bainian) where I wish my mom some blessings for the year and kowtow three times, we exchanged red envelopes. Then my mom needed to rest. I stayed up past midnight chatting with friends in discord and watching one of them stream on Twitch to 守歲(soushui) which is where you stay up late past midnight to extend the lifespan of your parents 😹 It was possibly just an excuse to stay up late in the past!

I ended up staying up until 2am or so before crashing in bed.  

I was thinking about the superstitions we have around New Year, and how the more desperate I am for good things to happen, the more closely I stick to the superstitions 😹 Like I need a job/income soon, so I'm definitely not sweeping/taking out trash today!  Do you follow superstitions regularly or around festivals/holidays?

Happy Year of the Horse!  Are there any celebrations in your area?  I know a lot of people have gone on international trips as we have nine days off.  I'm just going to stay home and stream in the evenings though 😹