When is the Little New Year? What do people eat during the Little New Year in the north?
There are four important days before the New Year: Winter Solstice, Kitchen God Worship, Little New Year and New Year's Eve. Today we will learn about Little New Year. When is it celebrated? What do people eat during the Little New Year in the north?When is the Little New Year?Regarding the Little New Year, the date is different due to differences between the north and the south.There is a saying among the people that "officials weigh three, common people weigh four, and beggars weigh five" or "officials weigh three, common people weigh four, and boatmen weigh five." Usually, Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'an, Kaifeng, Luoyang and other cities were the capitals of all dynasties. They were political centers and places where officials lived. They had a sense of superiority and disdained to celebrate the Little New Year with ordinary people. Therefore, they celebrated the Little New Year one day earlier than ordinary people. Geographically speaking, the Huai River is the basic dividing line. People north of the Huai River celebrate the Little New Year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, while people south of the Huai River celebrate it on the 24th. The Xinyang area of Henan Province, which is also south of the Huai River, also celebrates the Little New Year on the 23rd due to a sense of convergence among provinces. The boat people, beggars, Taoists or monks in the lakeside areas set the Little New Year on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. Not only is there a difference in the time of the Little New Year, but the customs of the Little New Year are also very different. In the north and northwest regions, people worship the Kitchen God on the Little New Year. In the south, people don't seem to attach much importance to this. In addition, people in the north put up spring couplets on the Little New Year. They put up a lot of them. Couplets are posted wherever there are doors, even in chicken coops and pig pens. In the south, people basically only put up a spring couplet on New Year's Eve. As for the customs of removing dust before the Little New Year and shaving after the Little New Year, they are roughly the same in the north and the south. What do people eat during the Little New Year in the north?Fried corn: In the southeastern part of Shanxi Province, it is a popular custom to eat fried corn. There is a folk saying that goes "If you don't eat fried corn on the 23rd, you will eat it all on the New Year's Day." People like to stick the fried corn together with maltose and freeze it into large chunks, which taste crispy and sweet. Steamed flower buns: After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household will steam flower buns. Generally speaking, they are divided into two types: those for worshiping gods and visiting relatives. The former is solemn, while the latter is fancy. In particular, a mountain of jujubes should be made as a sacrifice to the Kitchen God. "When one family steams flower buns, the neighbors come to help." This is often a great opportunity for women to show off their dexterity and craftsmanship. A flower steamed bun is a piece of handicraft.There is a saying in Northwest Shanxi: "Eat sesame candy on the 23rd. If you can't have any, just chew your fingers." It is said that Little New Year is the day when the Kitchen God goes to heaven. He reports to the Emperor of Heaven about the food, clothing and living conditions of the world in the past year and other things the Emperor of Heaven wants to know. Is it the day when the Kitchen God reports to the heaven? Eating sesame candy is to make the Kitchen God's mouth sticky with candy so that he cannot open it, and cannot report the delicious and luxurious scenes of the world to the heaven, so as to prevent people who love to eat and drink from being punished - the New Year brings famine, and they look forward to a peaceful and plentiful year. Huoshao: Dumplings have gradually become the main dish for New Year's Eve dinners in many northern provinces and cities, but there is one exception, and that is Henan. In Henan, every family makes their own huoshao to eat, and huoshao is almost synonymous with the Little New Year. Dumplings: In the north, people have the custom of eating dumplings on the night of the Little New Year, which means seeing off the Kitchen God. The idea is “seeing off dumplings facing the wind”. When offering sacrifices, the dumplings should be placed upright on the altar. In addition, there is a folk saying that "nothing tastes better than dumplings." During every Chinese New Year, dumplings become an indispensable delicacy. Sticky cake: In the western region of Shandong, there is a folk song that goes "Twenty-three, sticky cake is sticky." The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month every year is the day when every household steams and eats sticky cakes, which is meant to stick the mouth of the Kitchen God shut so that he will speak good things to the heaven instead of bad things on earth. Sticky cake is made from yellow rice, red dates and other ingredients. It is sweet, chewy and soft in the mouth, and it carries the auspicious meaning of "getting higher year by year". |
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