The Zao Wang Festival is a significant activity during the Little New Year. Besides offering sugar candies and pastries, families replace the image of the Kitchen God. People remove the old image and "invite" a new one into their homes.
The date for the Kitchen God ceremony varies across regions due to differing customs. Historical records indicate that during the Southern Dynasties, some areas observed it on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, coinciding with the Laba Festival. As documented in Records of the Seasons in Jingchu: "On this day, they sacrifice a pig and wine to the Kitchen God."
Sweeping Away Dust
On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, households sweep their homes. This period, spanning from the twenty-fourth to New Year's Eve, is known in folk tradition as the "Spring Welcoming Days" or "Dust Sweeping Days.""Sweeping away dust" refers to the year-end deep cleaning. On this day, every household cleans their surroundings, tidies utensils, washes bedding and curtains, sweeps courtyards and alleys, dusts away grime and cobwebs, and clears open and hidden drains. The atmosphere is filled with joyful cleaning and preparing for the New Year with a fresh start.
Sweeping away dust symbolizes discarding the old to welcome the new and banishing misfortune. After the Little New Year, with only six or seven days left until the Spring Festival, preparations for the holiday intensify.
Eating Zao Sugar
As the saying goes, "On the twenty-third, sugar melts in your mouth." During the Little New Year, people buy sugar melons, hard candies, sesame candies, and other sweets to offer to the Kitchen God, hoping to sweeten his words and ensure he reports favorably to heaven.
Bathing and Grooming
During the Little New Year period, both adults and children bathe and get haircuts.Folk wisdom holds that "rich or poor, get a haircut for the New Year." In the Lüliang region, it's customary to wash feet on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. That evening, wives and daughters wash their feet with hot water. Even young girls too young to understand are helped by adults to scrub their feet clean, leaving no trace of dirt. A folk saying goes: "On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, wives and daughters wash their feet."A proverb warns: "One who neglects foot washing will suffer seven months of pus-filled sores."
Marriage
After the Little New Year, folk belief holds that all gods ascend to heaven, lifting all taboos. Weddings and betrothals no longer require auspicious dates, termed "rush marriages." By year's end, wedding ceremonies surge. A folk rhyme goes: "As the year wanes, villages bustle with nuptials; Spring Festival notices greet the season's glow.Sisters whisper by lamplight: This New Year's Eve marks our wedding night."
What Does "Northern Little New Year, Southern Little New Year" Mean?
This primarily refers to the timing of Little New Year in northern and southern regions.
Many people misunderstand Little New Year's true meaning, mistaking it for a festival. Yet historically, Little New Year has never been a specific holiday.
The northern regions, being the political center, often celebrate the Little New Year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. Southern regions, farther from the political center, observe it on the 24th day. Residents along lakes like Poyang Lake retain the boatmen's tradition, marking the Little New Year on the 25th day. The distinction between "Little New Year in the North" and "Little New Year in the South" stems from these geographical differences.