Little New Year (Xiaonian), usually a week before the lunar New Year, on the 23rd or 24th of the 12th month of the lunar year. It is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity who oversees the moral character of each household.
In ancient China, there are “23rd for officials, 24th for civilian, and 25th for ships”,
that is, the official lunar month 23 off-year,the common people in the twelfth lunar month twenty-four off-year, people on the water, fishing home, etc., is the twelfth month of the 25th year
The reason for this division because before the Song Dynasty, the north was mostly the political center and was deeply influenced by official culture, so people chose the 23rd of the twelfth month.
In the south, far from the political center, the lunar New Year is on the 24th.
Poyang Lake along the coast and other places to preserve the old boat custom, the off-year selected in the twelfth month of the 25th.
Six folk customs
①Offer sacrifices to Kitchen God
In one of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, dispatching the god’s spirit to Heaven to report on the family’s conduct over the past year. The Kitchen God is then welcomed back by to the home through the pasting of a new paper image of him beside the stove. From this vantage point, the Kitchen God will oversee and protect the household for another year.
Most of the offerings are sweets of various varieties. It is thought that this will seal the Kitchen God’s mouth and encourage him to only say good things about the family when he ascends to heaven to make his report.
②House cleaning
Between Laba Festival, on the eighth day of the last lunar month, and Little New Year, on the twenty-third day, families throughout China undertake a thorough house cleaning, sweeping out the old in preparation for the New Year.
According to Chinese folk beliefs, during the last month of the year ghosts and deities must choose either to return to Heaven or to stay on Earth. It is believed that in order to ensure the ghost and deities’ timely departure people must thoroughly clean both their persons and their dwellings, down to every last drawer and cupboard.
③Eat Guandong candy
Guandong candy, a sticky treat made out of glutinous millet and sprouted wheat, is a traditional snack that Chinese people eat on the Festival of the Kitchen God.
④ Paste paper-cuts to windows
In the Little New Year, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year’s posters, and auspicious decorations are pasted up.
⑤Bath and hair-cut
As the old Chinese saying goes, whether they’re rich or poor, people often have a haircut before the Spring Festival. The activity of taking bath and haircut is often taken on the Little New Year.
⑥Preparations for Spring Festival
People start to stock up necessary provisions for the Spring Festival since the Little New Year. Everything needed to make offerings to the ancestors, entertain guests, and feed the family over the long holiday must be purchased in advance.
Little New year has come, and the New Year is not far away，the wanderers are getting closer to home
From year to year, the most beautiful thing is reunion.
May all the best all came as expected.
Post time: Jan-23-2025