Today is a very important and special day before Chinese new year. We call it 小年(xiǎonián), 年(nián) refers to the new year. So 小年(xiǎonián) means Little New Year in Chinese.

It is roughly a week before the Chinese New Year, falls on the 23rd day of the 12th month in lunar calender for our northern Chinese people. I know for some southern Chinese, they will celebrate the Little New Year on the 24th day of the 12th month by lunar calender.

小年(xiǎonián) is a day we offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, 灶神(zàoshén). To offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God in Chinese is 祭灶(jìzào).

The sacrifices generally include some nice food and fruits. In Beijing, a special type of traditional candy made from malt sugar is a must for 小年(xiǎonián). We call it 糖瓜儿(tángguār). 糖(táng) is sugar or candy, 瓜(guā) means melon. The type of candy is made to the shape of melon, that’s why we call it 糖瓜儿(tángguār). The Chinese children's folk rhyme says:

二十三(èrshísān)，糖瓜儿(tángguār)粘(zhān).

粘(zhān)means to stick or sticky. Because the 糖瓜儿(tángguār) is a very sticky candy. And do you know why we offer such a type of sticky candy to the Kitchen God? According to Chinese traditional culture, Kitchen God is a domestic god that protects the health and family.小年(xiǎonián) is the day the Kitchen God 灶神(zàoshén) returns to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor玉皇大帝(yùhuángdàdì) on the activities of every household over the past year. The Jade Emperor either rewards or punishes a family based on the kitchen god’s annual report. We believe the sticky and sweet 糖瓜儿(tángguār) can stick to the mouth of the Kitchen God, preventing him from saying bad things and only saying sweet things. Anyway, when I was a child, I didn't understand what this candy is for, I only knew it was very tasty.

After 小年(xiǎonián) we start to cleaning our houses and prepare meat and bread for the Chinese New Year, which we call it 过(guò)大年(dànián). I’ll introduce some other traditions about Chinese New Year in the following weeks. Follow us and stay tuned! 

祝(zhù)你(nǐ)小年(xiǎonián)快乐(kuàilè)!

Happy little Chinese New Year!