NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

<i>Lincoln Tan:</i> It doesn't hurt to play safe with your superstitions

Lincoln Tan
By Lincoln Tan,
Multimedia Journalist·
11 Feb, 2007 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lincoln Tan
Opinion by Lincoln Tan
Lincoln Tan, a Multimedia Journalist for New Zealand’s Herald, specialises in covering stories around diversity and immigration.
Learn more

KEY POINTS:

The Business of fortune-telling always booms at this time of year. Whether it's tradition, superstition, or curiosity, in the week before Chinese New Year many people want to find out what the year holds for them.

I still remember an aunt taking me to have my fortune told
in the week leading up to Chinese New Year, on January 29, at Singapore's Chinatown.

The blind fortune-teller had no table, just two low stools and a straw mat on the pavement. We had to wait what seemed like hours for our turn. He touched my face and palm as I squatted beside him, and after giving him details such as my Chinese name, birthdate and time of birth, he told my fortune. I didn't have a clue what he was rattling on about to my aunt, as they were speaking in the Hokkien dialect.

As a young boy, all I wanted was to get the session over and done with so I could get the promised ice-block treat,

Then I saw my aunt's face change. The Year of the Tiger was not going to be a good one for me and we had to rush to the temple to perform some rituals to change my destiny. At the temple I drank water from a cup containing burnt joss paper and recited some chants.

I could see the relief in my aunt's face when the temple medium said, "The Tiger will not bite him now, he will have a good year."

In all honesty, I doubt that those simple symbolic acts had the power to affect destiny - or that inanimate things can affect matters like life and death. But that is not how millions in the world will see things this week.

As Chinese New Year - the Year of the Pig - approaches people like my aunt and mother will continue to seek their fortunes for the coming year and observe a strict code on what they can and cannot do.

Families will spare no effort to come together on the eve of the New Year for reunion dinners so that they can continue being united and strong.

They will not sweep the house on New Year's Day because it could mean sweeping away luck and fortune. They will not argue or use bad language and will refrain from physical violence because it would mean a year of hardship. Using anything sharp, such as knives, is also out because it would cut away good fortune.

I am a sceptic about such claims but that is not to say I do not follow the customs. On the contrary, I'm a fervent observer of the traditions and taboos that comes with Chinese New Year.

I guess the years of living with a mother who is an ardent follower of tradition has made it not only a habit but has instilled in me the thought: "What if mum was right?"

I am not ready to find out or want a whole year of bad luck.

I think that most of these beliefs came into being because of Chinese practicality. Some old Chinese sage must have realised how stressful the festive time could be for families - just as Christmas can be for New Zealanders - and invented some of these do's and don'ts, adding a touch of superstition to make sure they were followed.

No arguments, bad language, or physical violence. Imagine, if Christmas had the same rules, how much less work there would be for police and community workers over Christmas.

What amazes me is that even with the huge advancement in education, millions still hold Chinese New Year superstitions to be true, even in New Zealand.

And I'm amazed at how many people still believe in the 5000-year-old Chinese system of astrology, which states that your personality and destiny are shaped by the year you were born.

A Malaysian Chinese friend told me the reason he looked forward to attending his Malaysia Club's Chinese New Year dinner was not for the food but to listen to New Year predictions by a Feng Shui expert.

A tarot-card reader told me that she has more clients, Chinese and non-Chinese, at Chinese New Year.

Legend says that a long time ago the Jade Emperor called on all Earth's creatures to enter a race and that the first 12 to finish would have a year named after them. The zodiac system operates on a 12-year cycle and my birth year of 1968 makes me a Monkey.

There are no blind Chinese fortune-tellers in Auckland, so to find out what the New Year holds for me I turn to the internet.

Wikipedia says that people born in the Year of the Monkey are creative geniuses behind anything ingenious, including mischief. A Monkey person also has an agile mind, multiple talents, flexible principles and serene self-confidence.

On the negative side, some of what I do can make me appear to be vain or manipulative. My wife insists that the description fits me exactly, but I beg to differ.

Still, it brings a big smile when I read that the Year of the Pig will be a good one for me, and that I find true mates in those born in the years of the Snake, Rabbit and Goat. I'd be the perfect husband for Angelina Jolie (Rabbit), Elizabeth Hurley (Snake) and Zhang Ziyi (Goat).

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand|crime

Night market cancelled this week ‘as a precaution’ after alleged hit-and-run

11 Jun 07:48 PM
Herald NOW

Herald NOW: Co-founder of 'The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson passes away aged 82

Herald NOW

New report on euthanasia released three years after introduction of End of Life Choice Act

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Herald NOW: Co-founder of 'The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson passes away aged 82

Herald NOW: Co-founder of 'The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson passes away aged 82

Co-founder of 'The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson passes away aged 82. Video / Herald NOW

New report on euthanasia released three years after introduction of End of Life Choice Act

New report on euthanasia released three years after introduction of End of Life Choice Act

Herald NOW: Daily News Update: June 12 2025

Herald NOW: Daily News Update: June 12 2025

Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 12 2025

Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 12 2025

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home
sponsored

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP