IN THE ABSENCE OF A BUDDHIST ALTAR, ONE SHOULD NOT RECITE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES UNTIL WEE HOURS OF THE FIRST DAY OF LUNAR NEW YEAR
Caller: Some Buddhist practitioners intend to offer the First Incense on the night of Chinese New Year’s Eve, and are curious to know whether in the absence of a Buddhist altar, it is alright for them to offer Heart Incense and recite Buddhist scriptures until the wee hours?
Master Jun Hong Lu: No. It’s best for them to go to another practitioner’s home to prostrate and pay respect to Bodhisattvas in front of a Buddhist altar. After which, they may go home to perform recitation. What do you think Chinese New Year’s Eve signifies? It refers to the past. In fact, it is a time when negativity is aplenty and it is important that you get rid of it, just like shaking off the negativity on your body.
Source: Wenda20130111 25:28, Master Jun Hong Lu’s call-in radio program