The New Year is approaching.
New Year's traditional customs
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The atmosphere of the Spring Festival typically begins on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month—what we call "Xiaonian." However, due to regional differences, some areas refer to the 24th day of the 12th lunar month as Xiaonian, a date also considered the official start of the Spring Festival celebrations.
The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month
Legend has it that this day is the "Day when the Kitchen God Ascends to Heaven." According to the tale, the Kitchen God was originally a commoner named Zhang Sheng. After marrying, he spent his days indulging in lavish feasts and drunken revelry, squandering his family’s wealth until he ended up begging on the streets. One day, while wandering aimlessly, he happened to arrive at the home of his former wife, Guo Dingxiang. Overwhelmed with shame, he fled in despair and plunged headfirst into the kitchen stove—where he ultimately burned himself to death.
After learning of this, the Jade Emperor decided that Zhang Sheng could still turn back from his misguided path—there was hope for him yet. Since he had ultimately met his end at the bottom of the cooking pot, the emperor appointed him as the Kitchen God, tasked with reporting to Heaven every year on the 23rd and 24th days of the twelfth lunar month, only to return to his post at the bottom of the stove by New Year’s Eve.
Therefore, people traditionally worship the Kitchen God on the 23rd and 24th days of the 12th lunar month, setting up sweets, wine, and food to pray for a bountiful harvest of grain and peace in their kitchens for the coming year.
The 24th day of the 12th lunar month
"On the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, it's time to dust and clean the house"—a year-end thorough cleaning. In northern China, this ritual is called "sweeping the house," while in the south, it’s known as "dusting off."
The *Lüshi Chunqiu* already records that the custom of sweeping away dust before the Spring Festival existed as early as the era of Yao and Shun. According to popular belief, "sweeping the house clean on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month" sounds similar to the word "chen," meaning "old." Hence, "sweeping the dust" is also referred to as "sweeping the old." This pre-festival cleaning carries the profound meaning of "banishing the old and welcoming the new," reflecting people's deep-seated hopes and aspirations to "discard the outdated and embrace the fresh," "bid farewell to the past and greet the future," and "break with the old to make way for the new." At its core, the practice aims to sweep out all traces of "bad luck" and "negative energy," ensuring a clean slate for the coming year.
On the day of the Great Cleaning, every household begins scrubbing and washing all sorts of utensils, dismantling and laundering bedding and curtains, sweeping and tidying up the courtyard, dusting off furniture to remove grime and cobwebs, and clearing out both open channels and hidden drains—preparing a brand-new environment to welcome the arrival of the New Year!
The 25th day of the 12th lunar month
"On the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, people grind grain to make tofu," and there’s also a saying: "On the 25th, it’s time to paper up the windows." This means that after sweeping away the dust on the 24th, the 25th is when families traditionally start pasting window decorations. Nowadays, papering windows is mostly still practiced in some rural areas, but decorating with colorful window cutouts, sticking up the character "fu" (meaning "fortune"), and hanging festive couplets remain common traditions across households—essentially serving as hallmarks of the New Year celebrations.
Due to the diverse ethnic groups and cultural traditions across regions, each area has its own unique celebrations and culinary practices. Common traditional activities include welcoming the Jade Emperor, lighting lanterns to ward off pests in the fields, the Festival of a Thousand Lanterns, and "chasing away the old year."
The 26th day of the 12th lunar month
"The saying 'On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, it's time to slaughter the pig and prepare the New Year's meat' means that from this day onward, people start stocking up on festive goods for the upcoming celebrations. Items like wine, fish, meat, firecrackers, and gifts for visiting relatives are all essential—marking the gradual arrival of the warm, traditional New Year atmosphere."
Typically, pig farmers also start slaughtering pigs on this day, carefully portioning the meat—some for gifting to others, some reserved for preparing festive dishes for the New Year, and some kept aside to host guests during the first month of the lunar calendar. It’s truly a lively and bustling scene as a group gathers around the pig-slaughtering process!
After slaughtering the pig, people usually gather together for a hearty pork feast—eating with joy, savoring happiness, and as they dig in, the festive spirit of the season grows even stronger.
The 27th day of the 12th lunar month
"On the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, it's time to slaughter chickens and head to the bustling market"—a day when people not only butcher their own poultry but also visit shops and markets to stock up on essentials.
During the Spring Festival, the "shangdian ganci" market—while still involving traditional fair trade and the exchange of surplus goods—primarily focuses on buying and selling festive items such as firecrackers, spring couplets, paper horses for ancestral worship, incense, joss paper, beef and mutton, as well as a variety of gifts for children and decorative flower accessories for young girls. With everyone preparing essential items for the holiday, these markets across the region are bustling and vibrant on this special day.
The 28th day of the 12th lunar month
"On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, start kneading the dough." "On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, make rice cakes, steam buns, and decorate them with intricate patterns." On the 26th and 27th days of the 12th lunar month, families prepare the meat dishes needed for the New Year—but by the 28th, it’s time to focus on crafting delicious flour-based treats.
In the past, when societal development was low and modern, convenient baking powders didn’t yet exist, ordinary dough prepared days in advance tended to spoil quickly. Only fermented dough could be stored without going bad—hence the tradition of preparing it on the 28th day of the lunar month, ensuring fresh supplies for staple foods from the first to the fifth day of the new year. Additionally, this practice stemmed from an old custom that forbade using fire to steam buns during those same five days.
Besides preparing the dough, this day also involves "tiao hua hua"—which means pasting New Year paintings, couplets, and paper cuttings on windows. Every household decorates their doors, walls, and doorframes with "Fu" characters of various sizes, symbolizing their yearning for a happy life and their heartfelt wishes for a bright future.
The 29th day of the 12th lunar month
"On the 29th day of the 12th lunar month, families visit graves and prepare a grand ancestral offering." In the Chinese lunar calendar, months are divided into "big months" with 30 days and "small months" with just 29 days. Therefore, when the 12th month happens to be a small month, the 29th naturally marks the very end of the year. As a result, the 29th of the 12th lunar month effectively becomes New Year's Eve—whether or not it’s a small month, the following day is already celebrated as the Lunar New Year's Eve. That’s why all the preparations for the upcoming festivities must be completed by this day.
Throughout the festive season, the 29th day is arguably the busiest—beyond preparing all the food, clothing, and offerings for the celebrations, there’s also an incredibly important ritual called "visiting the graves to honor ancestors," where families pay their respects. This isn’t just a gesture of comfort to their forebears; it also reflects the descendants’ deep gratitude and heartfelt remembrance. As Spring Festival is the most significant holiday of the year, the grave-visiting and ancestral worship ceremony takes on an especially solemn and meaningful tone. In most regions, this ritual takes place early in the morning on the 29th, while in a few areas, it occurs from late afternoon until dusk on New Year’s Eve.
Folklore says, "On the 29th, steam the steamed buns!" After preparing the dough on the 28th, people eagerly get busy on the 29th, letting their imaginations run wild as they shape the buns into creative forms—like peach-shaped buns for longevity or adorable little animals.
New Year's Eve
On New Year's Eve, one night bridges two years, while the fifth watch ushers in the dawn of a new day. The cold bids farewell to winter snow, as warmth arrives with the breath of spring breeze.
New Year's Eve family gatherings and staying up late into the night are the most cherished New Year traditions, a practice already documented during the Wei and Jin dynasties. On New Year's Eve, families—young and old alike—stay awake together, celebrating with joy, hearty meals, and heartfelt togetherness. Even those who work far from home make every effort to return in time for this special reunion.
Before the eve of Chinese New Year's Day arrives, other decorations may not be necessary, but one thing is essential: hanging a vibrant, joyous red couplet—especially for the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, which symbolizes togetherness, happiness, and good fortune.
In Chengdu, these traditional customs take on an especially unique charm: the house-cleaning ritual on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month is called "da yangchen," or "beating off the dust." And on New Year's Eve—specifically, during the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve—the menu invariably includes sausages and cured pork, ingredients that people start preparing well in advance, right from the beginning of December. Typically, they also prepare a whole fish, which, rather than being completely eaten, is left over until the next day—symbolizing abundance year after year.
The Spring Festival is approaching.
Quickly pick up these little cultural tips!
Amid the rich festive atmosphere of the New Year
Experience a New Year like never before!
