In Singapore, I think one of the biggest milestone in life would be collecting the house key after getting a house. No matter whether it is a HDB, condo or landed property, this is definitely one of happiest moment! We were very excited when we collect the house keys. But of cos we tried to contain our excitement and hold the horses to open the door immediately as we wanted to make sure that we will have a smooth sailing, prosperous and peaceful journey after moving into the house. Hence we did a proper open door ceremony after collecting the keys.
First thing first, I must clarify that this is not a religious thing that I am doing. It is more for the fengshui which I thought to be something that is free from any religious. So yes, I did check the dates and timing to open the door from an online almanac before I proceed with my door opening. So here are the steps –
1. Knock the door 3 times
2. Roll pineapple to the middle of the living room while saying all the positive things. I am very kiasu so I made a list of all the positives phrases and I said them repeatedly till the whole process was done. hahaha so here are some of the phrases for your references –
大吉大利!
和气生财！
出入平安！
甜甜蜜蜜!
幸福美满!
身体健康!
招財進宝!
事业顺利！
生意兴隆！
心想事成！
事事顺心！
龙马精神!
财源广进!
贵人相助！
HUAT AH!
3. Place 5 oranges, 5 apples, 1 banana, 5 pomegranates, grapes and the tea leaves in the middle of the living room.
4. Open all the windows and door. Remember to buy door stopper to prevent the door from closing. This step is to circulate the air (aka qi) in the house and let welcome all the positive energy into the house.
5. Mix the salt, rice, green beans and tea leaves in a big plastic bag. Sprinkle the salt/rice mixture at every corners, nook and cranny (including toilets and bathrooms) together with your partner. Sprinkles any leftover of the mixture out of the house. But try to sprinkle more in the house so that don’t need to sprinkle too much out of the main door.
5. Put 2 oranges and 1 red packet with 8 x $1 dollar coins at 4 corners of the house (look at the floor plan of your house to find the 4 corners) and at where the stove is. If you are unsure of where the stove is (if you are going to do renovation), put them in the middle of the kitchen.
Logistics
Fruits
15 Oranges (symbolise good fortune)
5 Red Apples (平平安安，peace, good health, and harmony in one’s home）
1 Pineapple （wealth, fortune, and prosperity)
1 Grapes (red or purple, success, abundance of food, an abundance of material wealth)
1 Banana (招财，, wealth, prosperity)
5 Pomegranates (happiness, good luck)
1 Melon (family unity)
5 Peaches ( longevity)
Choose any 5 of the fruits above. Don’t need to get all but keep to the odd numbers e.g 3, 5, 7 for the types of fruits to be placed in the living room.
Salt/ Rice Mixture
1 rice
1 salt
1 green bean
2 tea
1 big plastic bag to mix
Scissor to cut open the plastic
Red Packet
6 red packets with 8 $1 coins in each of them
Extra
Water to hydrate (it is going to be very hot no matter how breezy the house is so stay hydrated!)
Fan
The most important thing is to leave the house feeling positive and happy. In fact, after we are done with the open door ceremony, we left the house feeling so lucky that we even went to buy 4D which we striked a consolation prize that evening. lol.
The open door ceremony can be done within half an hour done but the items needed to be left in the house for at least 3 days. So do remember to arrange your interior designing firm (ID) to start the renovation work at least 3 days later. I will share more about home renovation and what to look out for while searching for an ID in time to come. Meanwhile, huat huat everyone.
