Little New Year is a traditional day for worshipping the Kitchen God and is often seen as the beginning of a busy year. On this day, people cut window decorations, sweep the house, get a haircut, bathe, eat kitchen candy, and cook glutinous rice balls. Minor New Year marks the beginning of preparations for the Lunar New Year, expressing a desire to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, ushering in good fortune and prosperity. It reflects the Chinese people’s pursuit of the dream of “enough food and clothing.”
Little New Year, also known as the “New Year’s Festival,” falls around the beginning of spring, the turn of the New Year. In ancient times, Minor New Year was also known as the “Kitchen God Festival,” when every household would worship the Kitchen God.
The word “Minor New Year” has three literal interpretations. One refers to the 29-day twelfth lunar month; the second refers to a festival, the 23rd or 24th day of which traditionally was the day for worshiping the Kitchen God; and the third refers to a year in which fruit trees bear few fruits and bamboo and wood grow slowly.
