Ring out the old year and ring in the new year on the Little New Year

市民在选购政府储备投放的蔬菜(图/马健)

 

“On the 23rd day of the 12th month in the Lunar calendar,people prepared sweets made of yellow rice and malt.” With the coming of the Little New Year(xiaonian), the pace of the Lunar New Year is getting closer, many Zhengzhou residents have begun to prepare for the Spring Festival goods.

“二十三，糖瓜粘。”随着农历小年的来临，农历新年的脚步越来越近，不少郑州市民已经开始着手准备年货了。

 

资料图 （图/绿松鼠）

 

The Little New Year usually refers to the day of sweeping the dust and worshipping the Kitchen God. Due to different customs around the country, known as the "xiaonian" day is not the same, there are the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, or 24th and so on. Regardless of the date of the Little New Year, it expresses the differentiation of the stages of the celebration. Celebrating the little New Year represents people's good wishes to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.

小年，通常是指扫尘、祭灶的日子。由于各地风俗不同，被称为“小年”的日子也不尽相同，有腊月二十三、腊月二十四等说法。不管小年是哪一天，都表达了对庆祝活动阶段性的区分。过小年，代表着人们辞旧迎新的美好心愿。

 

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.

“小年”最具特色的风俗就是“祭灶王”，具体来讲就是将旧的灶王像烧掉，送“灶王”上天禀报这家人过去一年的善恶。大年三十的晚上，要在灶台旁贴一张新的灶王像，也就是“接灶”。这样，来年“灶王爷”就能继续监督并庇佑这一家人。

 

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.

人们还会在祭灶时给灶王爷摆上多种甜点做贡品，认为这会堵住灶王爷的嘴，让他上天汇报时只说好话。

 

The Little New Year is often seen as the beginning of a "busy year". From this time to the New Year's Eve, the preparation of the New Year appears more lively. For example, "Dust-sweeping” , means cleaning all kinds of utensils, unwashing bedding curtains...... the people prepare to welcome the New Year in a clean and tidy condition. What’s more, during this period, adults, children also want to take a bath and have a haircut to be refreshing. It is believed that this also means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new".

小年通常被视为“忙年”的开始。从此时到除夕，过年的准备工作显得更加热闹。比如“扫尘”，家家户户都要打扫卫生，清洗各种器具，拆洗被褥窗帘……准备干干净净迎接新年。不仅如此，在此期间，大人、小孩也要洗澡、理发，清清爽爽。人们认为，这样也有“辞旧迎新”的意味。

 

In addition, a series of folk activities after the Little New Year, such as cutting paper-cuts and pasting paper-cuts, emphasize the "sense of participation", meaning people are busy for the upcoming Spring Festival and looking forward to the New Year together.

此外，小年之后的一系列民俗活动，如剪窗花、贴窗花都强调了“参与感”，意为人们为即将到来的春节忙碌，共同期待新的一年。

 

文本来源：综合郑州客户端、中国日报