Little New Year
little new year chinese 小年 also known festival kitchen god festival traditional lunisolar chinese calendar honor kitchen god take place roughly week chinese new year northern china little new year celebrated rd day twelfth month chinese calendar southern china celebrated th day little new year roll around jade emperor decides accordingly family yearly behavior decide reward punish kitchen god serf messenger report back jade emperor folk burn paper image god order dispatch spirit heaven afterwards put new image next stove welcome back order oversee protect family happens sacrifice made hope seal mouth leading saying good thing family sacrifice may include spirit money sweet food cake dried fruit tea straw kitchen god horse people sometimes throw bean roof represent sound kitchen god horse hoof less commonly people feed bean horse traditionally sacrifice made men woman god journey also marked firework house cleaning happens eighth day last lunar month laba festival happens little new year chinese belief call folk clean housing since said ghost spirit must either return heaven stay earth ensure leave people clean every corner home time house also cleaned goal making antivirus new year start sickness guandong candy treat made glutinous millet sprouted wheat said mouth full candy wouldnt able badmouth others traditionally people melt candy put mouth kitchen god cannot tell jade emperor anything bad either able say sweet thing mouth stuck together cannot talk candy simply bribe area people put honey sticky rice mouth instead similarly kitchen god picture old paper cut taken new one put indication beginning spring paper cut usually word 福 indicating people wish lucky year cut also usually side since chinese upsidedown sound like arrive wishing luck arrive preparation process done advance wide variety thing prepare revolving around word new often new clothing thing like firecracker bought use celebration popular item red envelope since people belief young one respect elderly return elderly love youth usually money inside red envelope