小年至 年味浓 这些小年的习俗你了解吗？

Little New Year is coming. It's quite a spring festival. Do you know these customs of little year?

 

近些年来，关于小年到底是哪一天，其讨论热度不亚于端午节吃咸粽子还是甜粽子。其实，对于小年到底是哪天，各地有不同的概念和日期。在我国北方地区小年是腊月廿三，部分南方地区是腊月廿四，江浙沪地区把腊月廿四和除夕前一夜都称为小年。

In recent years, the discussion about the day of Little New Year is as hot as the discussion about whether to eat salty or sweet Zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival. As a matter of fact, different places have different concepts and dates on which day the new year is. In northern China, the Lunar New Year is December 23, and in some southern regions, it is December 24. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas, the Lunar New Year's Eve and the night before it are called the Lunar New Year's Eve.

小年，是民间祭灶的日子。民间传说，“上天言好事，下界保平安”，每年腊月廿三，灶王爷都要上天向玉皇大帝禀报这家人的善恶。于是，小年这天人们会摆一些糖瓜、灶糖在灶王像前，为的就是让灶王爷在玉帝面前多说好话。

Little New Year is a day for people to sacrifice to the kitchen. According to the folklore, "Heaven says good things, and the lower world keeps peace." every year on the 23rd of December, the kitchen god reports the good and evil of his family to the Jade Emperor. Therefore, on New Year's day, people will put some sugar melons and kitchen sweets in front of the kitchen King statue, in order to let the kitchen King say more good things in front of the Jade Emperor.

过了腊月廿三，家家户户就开始贴窗花了。以前，窗花一般都是自己剪，手巧的老人带着孙子孙女一起剪漂亮的窗花贴上。如今，多数人都是去买窗花，似乎会少了一丝喜悦和年味儿。

After December 23, every household began to paste window decorations. In the past, the window decorations were usually cut by themselves. The skillful old man and his grandchildren cut beautiful window decorations and pasted them together. Nowadays, most people are going to buy window decorations, which seems to be a little less joy and new year's taste.

在很多地方，小年就开始贴春联，算是比较早进入春节了。比较传统的人家，还习惯请写字好的人来书写春联。一般用最普通的红纸黑墨，简朴却年味儿十足。

In many places, the Spring Festival couplets have been pasted since the beginning of the new year, which can be regarded as the early spring festival. Compared with traditional families, they are also used to inviting people with good handwriting to write Spring Festival couplets. Generally use the most common red paper black ink, simple but full of flavor.

小年时，还要扫灰尘，北方人称“扫房”，南方人称“掸尘”。

这一习俗可追溯到三千多年前，当时为驱疫鬼、祈安康的宗教仪式。后“尘”与“陈”谐音，扫尘也寓意把陈旧的东西一扫而光，既指庭院内的陈年积垢，也指旧岁中遇到的不快。

On little New Year, people have to sweep the dust, which was called "house sweeping" in the north and "dusting" in the south.

This custom can be traced back to more than 3000 years ago, when it was a religious ceremony to drive away the ghosts and pray for health. After the "dust" and "Chen" homonym, sweep dust also means to sweep away the old things, not only refers to the courtyard of the old dirt, but also refers to the old year in the face of unhappiness.

过了腊月廿三，汉族民间认为诸神上了天，百无禁忌，娶媳妇、聘闺女不用择日子。因此直至年底，举行结婚典礼的都会特别多。

After the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Han people believed that the gods had gone to heaven, and there was no taboo. There was no need to choose the right day to marry or hire a daughter-in-law. So until the end of the year, there will be a lot of wedding ceremonies.

糖瓜、饴糖、麻糖等吃食本为给灶王爷嘴上抹得吃食，逐渐演变成了小孩小年必吃的零食。晋西北有“二十三吃麻糖，吃不上麻糖啃指头”的俗话。

Sugar gourd, malt sugar, sesame sugar and other foods were originally for the kitchen god to wipe on his mouth, and gradually evolved into snacks that children must eat when they are young. There is a saying in Northwest Shanxi that "on the 23rd day, you can eat sesame candy, but you can't eat sesame candy and chew your fingers.".

北方小年晚上习惯吃饺子，意为给灶王爷送行，取意“送行饺子迎风面”。一家人坐在一起，吃着热乎乎的饺子，其乐融融，很有年味儿。

The northern Chinese New Year used to eat dumplings in the evening, which means to see off the kitchen god. The whole family sat together and ate hot dumplings. They were very happy and young.

 

Source: Hebei news network