On February 3, Chinese New Year will be celebrated around the world. By following these five popular traditions, you can make this Year of the Rabbit an eco-friendly celebration!

• Cleaning your living space before the New Year is a must for any Chinese family. It’s believed that this ritual sweeps away the bad luck of the past year. All cleaning materials should be put away after the job is done, as it’s bad luck to use them, or see them around, on New Year’s Day.
• Sort your unwanted stuff into recyclable and non-recyclable piles and dispose of them accordingly.
• Clothes that are in good condition can be donated to charities or thrift stores that benefit charities. Turn clothes that cannot be salvaged into rags.

• When decorating your home to usher in the New Year, go for classic and durable designs that can last and be used again next year. If you want to be creative and have fun, turn old red envelopes (hongbaos) into art decorations and lanterns for your home.
• Get crafty—make a string of colourful paper lanterns using pages from an old magazine. It is also fun to make lanterns from empty glass jars so that you can place a tealight inside.
• Eating or displaying citrus fruits represents good health and a long life. Whether you consume or display them, be sure to compost the remains.

• For all the vegetarians, “Buddhist delight” is a must. The ingredients range from lotus seeds and bamboo shoots to cabbage and fried tofu. Many Buddhists use it for purification during the first few days of the New Year.
• Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) are eaten right after midnight to bring family members good luck for the upcoming year. The dumplings are typically filled with ground meat and vegetables.

• Eating together as a family on New Year’s Day is always very important. Some foods reinforce these values; steamed chicken represents togetherness and long noodles show hope for a long life.
• If there is left-over food, send it home in reusable containers.

• Red is the color of luck for the Chinese New Year. It is also the color of money or treat envelopes that are given to children. Keep your envelopes and reuse them next year.

• Instead of buying paper cards, send e-cards to express your wishes to your friends and business associates. Check out http://www.chinesenewyearecards.com/
• Be sure to wish everyone a “gung hey fat choy,” which wishes others prosperity, good health and a happy New Year. Gung hey fat choy to you and your family!