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 ghosts and deities' timely departure people must thoroughly clean both their persons and their dwellings, down to every last drawer and cupboard.
根据中国民间习俗,鬼魂和神灵都要在腊月选择返回天上还是留在人间.为了保证"他们"及时离开,人们必须彻底进行清扫,包括个人卫生和住所,抽屉和碗柜的犄角旮旯也都要打扫干净.
3. Eat Guandong candy
吃关东糖
Vendors sell Guandong candy at a market in Wushe county, Henan province, March 14, 2015. [Photo by Xu Hongxing/Asianewsphoto]
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.
关东糖是用麦芽、小米熬制而成,是人们在小年吃的传统小吃.
4. Paste paper-cuts to windows
贴窗花
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.
过小年时,要把去年春节贴的春联和窗花取下,贴上新的窗花,年画,和各种大吉大利的装饰品.
5. Bath and hair-cut
沐浴理发
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.
民间有"有钱没钱,剃头过年"的说法."小年"时人们常要沐浴理发.
6. Preparations for Spring Festival
办年货
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.
从小年开始,人们就要为过年置办了,包括给祖先的贡品、招待客人的用品,还有过年期间一家人的吃食都要提前买好.
