On the eighth day of the 12th month the official family preparations for the New Year begin. One of the important pre-New Year days falls on the 24th when the "kitchen" god returns to heaven to report on the behaviour of the humans for the year. Using this time, families thoroughly clean the house.
每年臘八甫過，家家戶戶便忙著採辦年貨；待到十二月廿四送神歸天，又趕緊將屋子裡裡外外大肆清掃一番，以迎接嶄新的來年。