The Significance of cleaning up for Chinese New Year.
There goes a legend.
It is believed that the 'Three Shadows Ghost' livies in the human body. In many cultures, it is also known as the alter-ego. This force in us is constantly feeding false information to the Jade Emperor in heaven about how dark and filthy the human living conditions are on earth.
One day, the Three Shadows Ghost reported that people on Earth are planning to rebel against the wishes of heaven, infuriating the Jade Emperor. As the Jade Emperor is responsible for all governance of humanity, he ordered the Three Shadows Ghost to investigate further and report back to him on the matter. The Three Shadows Ghost is also to leave a mark of rebellious families by planting cobwebs under the eaves of roofs of such homes.
However, the mischief of the Three Shadows Ghost was uncovered by the Kitchen God who ranks over him and reports directly to the Jade Emperor every 25th day of the twelveth lunar calendar. The Kitchen God further advised and motivated households to clean up their homes the day before, the 24th day of the lunar calendar so that he could report on their efforts and allegiance to the Jade Emperor.
On receiving this news, the Three Shadows Ghost was banished to the Heavenly Prison but is said that he will occasionally slip out and contaminate the minds and weaknesses of those who are weak and submissive to wrongdoings.
These are the dates for the effective spring cleaning of your home so as to remove the accumulated neagtive energies over the past months and to give the Kitchen God a good report for the Jade Emperor to reward you in the coming Year of the Rabbit.