With Chinese New Year supposedly a pivotal time for dictating fortunes over the coming months, there's a list of do's and don'ts as long as your arm.

Here's our quick pick of the bigger bloopers.

• Don't wash your hair on New Year's Day.
  Yes, that's right; hold the shampoo till the next day, or you could wash away all your luck for the year.
• Don't cry on New Year's Day
  After all, you don't want to spend the whole year crying, do you?
• No money lending on - you've guessed it - New Year's Day
  No lending anything in fact. And you have paid off all your debts before Chinese New Year, haven't you?
• Don't go out meeting people on ... the fifth day of the new year
  A good one if you have horrible in-laws, this. You stay home, rather than pop out and meet friends and relatives - for if you met them today, you'd bring bad luck on both them, and you.

Have a secret list of things to avoid? Share them here.