When the new year comes, the new year is not far away. Xiaonian is another saying of the 23rd lunar month. The time of Xiaonian in the north and the south is different. The north is the 23rd lunar month and the south is the 24th lunar month. The time of Xiaonian is different, but the customs are similar. So, what are the customs and stresses on the 23rd of the 12th month? Let's go to see the customs with Xiaobian.
Customs of the 23rd month of the 12th month
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, custom 1: eating candy
There is no need for chicken, duck, fish, cattle, sheep and three animals to offer sacrifice to Zao God, just offering some 'sugar melon' to let Zao God taste some sweetness and say a few words in front of the Jade Emperor. As the old saying goes, "23, sweet melon sticks, the kitchen master wants to go to heaven.". Vesta sugar is a kind of maltose, which is called "Guandong sugar" when it is drawn into a long stick, and "sugar melon" when it is drawn into a flat circle. True Guandong sugar is very hard and can't be broken. It must be split with a kitchen knife when eating. The material is very heavy and fine.
Today's modern people, more people use sugar gourd to spend the festival. In addition, jiaozi and huoshao are also the special festival food of Xiaonian. During the festival, people pay attention to eating dumplings, and take the idea of 'sending dumplings off to face the wind'. There are more cakes and buckwheat noodles in the mountains. In the southeast of Shanxi Province, it is a popular custom to eat fried corn. There is a saying in the folk proverb, "23, do not eat fried corn. At the beginning of the year - one pot down". People like to stir fry corn with maltose, frozen into large pieces, eat crisp and sweet.
The second custom of the 23rd lunar month: sacrifice to the kitchen
Since we want to send the kitchen god, of course, we can't do without the ceremony of "offering sacrifices to the kitchen", which is the most important activity on the day of Xiaonian. On the day of Xiaonian, it is actually a festival for families to send the kitchen god to heaven. After a year of smoke and fire, the old kitchen god's portrait should be uncovered. At the same time, every family has to "please" come back to a new kitchen king like a sacrifice to the kitchen king.
Custom 3: cut window flowers
Window cutting is also a popular folk activity in the early years. The contents include all kinds of animals and plants, such as magpie climbing plum, yanchuantao willow, peacock playing peony, lion rolling Hydrangea, Sanyang (Yang) Kaitai, Erlong playing pearl, luhetongchun (six contract spring), wubat (Fu) holding longevity, rhinoceros looking at the moon, lotus (even) year fish (surplus), Yuanyang playing water, Liuhai playing golden cicada, hehe Erxian and so on.
Custom 4: sweeping the dust
After the sacrifice, people began to prepare for the new year. Every year from the 23rd of the 12th lunar month to the end of new year's Eve, Chinese people call this period "Spring Festival", also known as "dust day". Sweeping is the year-end sweeping, which is called "house sweeping" in the north and "dusting" in the south. It is the traditional custom of the Chinese nation to sweep the dust before the Spring Festival.
Sweeping is mainly to clean all the rooms thoroughly. Housewives usually cover the furniture with sheets, wrap their heads with headscarves or towels, and then sweep the walls up and down with brooms. After cleaning, clean the tables and chairs, wash the floor, and welcome the new year with clean, tidy and bright.
Different customs in the north and south of the 23rd lunar month
December 23 is also called Xiaonian. The days of Xiaonian are not fixed. The difference between the north and the south is one day. Every year, the Lunar New Year is December 23 or 24. In the north, it is December 23. In the south, it is December 24. In the northern part of China, there are many ways to celebrate the new year, such as offering sacrifices to the kitchen god, pasting pictures of the kitchen god, cutting window flowers, sweeping, setting off firecrackers, eating dumplings, and eating fire. In the southern part of China, the 24th of the 12th lunar month is called "dusting". Families eat rice cakes, which means that people's work and life are improved year by year.
In addition, Hainan's small year is on the 15th Lantern Festival of the lunar calendar. There is a folk saying in Hainan: "fireworks on the 30th of the year, lights on the 15th of the first month". For Hainan people, it's not the end before the 15th day of the first month. If you celebrate the Lantern Festival in a rural area of Wenchang, if you see someone picking vegetables quietly outside whose vegetable field you are in at night, you can't shout loudly. In fact, this is the local custom of "stealing green" for many years. They pick radishes, cucumbers, vegetables and other fresh vegetables. Even if they are met by the owner of the garden, they will never be scolded. Some of the owners of the vegetable fields will help you pick vegetables of greater weight to share with the young people, and some of the owners who can sing will also send you blessing Wenchang ballads: 'little sister, pick a green onion to keep you smart and smart; little brother, pluck celery to wish you industrious and happy; little brother, come to pick vegetables to make a fortune in the Ming Dynasty. Young people bring home their picked vegetables, which means good luck and good luck in the new year.