custom of placing a variety of articles (writing brush, abacus etc) before an infant on its first birthday to see which one he or she picks up (The article chosen is supposed to be an indication of the child's inclinations, future career etc.)
bad habits / to get into bad habits through long custom
积习成俗
jī xí chéng sú
accumulated habits become custom
习俗移性
xí sú yí xìng
one's habits change with long custom
违时绝俗
wéi shí jué sú
to defy the times and reject custom (idiom) / in breach of current conventions
执牛耳
zhí niú ěr
to be the acknowledged leader (from the custom of a prince holding a plate on which lay the severed ears of a sacrificial bull at an alliance ceremony)
to enquire, according to custom, after the name and horoscope of intended bride / one of a set of six traditional marriage protocols (六禮|六礼), in which name as well as date and time of birth (for horoscope) are formally requested of the prospective bride's family
躲年
duǒ nián
to avoid going home for the Chinese New Year (for any of various reasons: because one finds the festivities onerous in some way, or because it would be seen as inauspicious for one to attend, or, in former times, to avoid creditors, since it was the custom to have debts settled before New Year's Day, and once into the New Year, debtors got a reprieve)
bone-gathering, a custom of Fujian and Taiwan in which a son recovers the bones of his deceased father from the grave and places them in an urn for permanent storage at a different location
fēng