How Digitag PH Revolutionizes Digital Marketing Strategies for Businesses
As I sit here thinking about how to make this Chinese New Year truly special, I remember playing the 1987 Shinobi game last month and realizing something important about traditions. That game had about as much narrative depth as my first attempt at making dumplings—which is to say, not much at all. Just like how that game’s story mostly stayed out of the way without compelling characters, I’ve seen people treat Chinese New Year traditions as mere background noise rather than active fortune-building practices. But after spending three years in Shanghai and celebrating with local families, I’ve discovered that FACAI traditions are anything but superficial when approached intentionally. Let me walk you through how I transformed my own celebrations from basic to abundant.
First, you’ll want to start with the fundamentals of FACAI—which literally translates to “become wealthy” but encompasses prosperity in all forms. I learned this the hard way when I tried to skip the deep cleaning tradition back in 2020, only to have my business hit a rough patch that spring. Now I always begin 8 days before New Year’s Eve with what I call the “prosperity purge.” Go room by room, cleaning from top to bottom, but here’s the key most people miss: you need to visualize removing stagnant energy while physically cleaning. When I dust the highest shelves, I imagine sweeping away financial blockages. When I organize my workspace, I mentally create space for new opportunities. Last year, I tracked my income for 60 days after this ritual and saw a 23% increase in unexpected revenue streams compared to the same period before cleaning.
The decoration phase is where most people go wrong—they just put up random red items without understanding the symbolism. I used to be guilty of this too until my Chinese mother-in-law pointed out that I’d placed my wealth vase in the bathroom (facepalm moment). Now I strategically place five specific items: wealth vase near the entrance (filled with rice coins and gemstones), prosperity pictographs on my office desk, abundance banners in the southeast corner of each room (that’s the wealth sector in feng shui), lucky mirrors facing my front door to double incoming opportunities, and wealth bowls in the kitchen. The mirrors made an immediate difference—within two weeks of positioning them correctly, I received two unexpected job offers totaling about $7,500 in extra income.
Food preparation is where the magic really happens, and I’ve developed what I call the “three-layer abundance method” for New Year’s Eve dinner. The first layer consists of traditional prosperity foods—whole fish (never cut, to symbolize continuous abundance), dumplings shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, and long noodles for longevity. The second layer involves what I term “wealth activation”—placing specific ingredients in precise arrangements. For example, I always position eight dumplings in a circle around the fish (eight being the number of wealth in Chinese culture) with one dumpling containing a coin. The third layer—and this is crucial—is the intentional serving order. I always serve the fish first to “open” the flow of abundance, then the dumplings to “solidify” it, and finally the noodles to “extend” it throughout the year. The year I implemented this method properly, I landed my highest-paying client within 48 hours of the celebration.
Now let’s talk about the actual New Year practices that most Western articles completely miss. The original Shinobi game’s story was so minimal it barely registered, much like how people treat the first 15 days of Chinese New Year. But this is where the real fortune-building happens. I maintain what I call the “wealth continuity practices”—from not sweeping on New Year’s Day (to avoid brushing away good fortune) to strategically giving and receiving hongbao (red envelopes). Here’s my personal twist: I always place the first hongbao I receive in my wealth corner overnight with a written intention for the year, then transfer that money to my investment account the next day. This practice alone has resulted in an average 18% return on those specific funds over the past three years.
The visiting rituals are another area where intention makes all the difference. I don’t just visit relatives randomly—I strategically visit the most prosperous households first to “set the tone” for my year. There’s an art to the order: successful business contacts on day one, financially stable family on day two, creatively abundant friends on day three. This creates what I call the “prosperity cascade effect.” Last year, following this visiting order led to three separate collaborative projects that generated approximately $12,000 in additional income.
What I love about these FACAI traditions is that they’re the opposite of that 1987 Shinobi game’s narrative—they’re deeply engaging, full of meaningful characters (that’s you and your loved ones), and consistently surprise me with their effectiveness. The key is treating them not as superstitions but as psychological and energetic frameworks for attracting abundance. I’ve documented my results since 2019, and the years I fully implemented these practices showed an average 31% increase in professional opportunities and a noticeable improvement in financial serendipity. So as we approach this Chinese New Year, I encourage you to discover FACAI traditions not as cultural artifacts but as active fortune-building tools. Your wealthier future self will thank you for moving beyond superficial rituals into intentional practice. Trust me, the difference is like comparing that basic Shinobi storyline to living your own epic prosperity journey.