Three questions about Xiaonian that have to be clarified Xiaonian may be one of the most 'confused' festivals for us Chinese. What is the origin of the stove king who sacrificed to Xiaonian? When did the festival of Xiaonian start? Is Xiao Nian the twenty-third or twenty-four of the twelfth lunar month? Although the new year passes every year, most people may not be aware of these issues. As soon as the Twelfth Lunar New Year comes on the 23rd (or fourth) New Year's Day, wanderers living in a foreign country are more interested in returning home. It gets thicker, and everyone is busy. This indicates that the Spring Festival is about to load. Xiaonian is probably the most confused one of the Chinese festivals. For example, who is the Xiaonian offering the stove? Which day will the stove be sacrificed? All these things have to be discussed every year, but this does not prevent us from having a good time. 1. Who is the kitchen god on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, every household must offer sacrifices to the kitchen god. Sacrifice stoves already existed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and they were one of the national 'five sacrifices'. The Kitchen God is the Jade Emperor’s special commissioner. He is stationed in every household, not only in charge of the family’s food, but also in words and deeds. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen god wants to go to heaven to report to his leadership. In order to prevent him from talking nonsense, people eat sugar melons. Lord Stove knows that cannibals have short mouths, so 'the heavens say good things2. In which dynasty, the twelfth lunar month, the twenty-third (or fourth) of the twelfth lunar new year, is a small year, and this day must be a sacrifice to the stove. You should know that sacrificing stoves is a custom that has existed in ancient times, but Xiaonian is a new one. The Han Dynasty has had the custom of Xiaonian, at this time Xiaonian is called 'Xiaosui'. Cui Miao (read shí) of the Han Dynasty recorded in the 'Simin Yueling': 'La Ming is renewed on the day, and it is called the young age. Enter the wine to respect the elders, and cultivate the emperor.' On the young years, people must specially drink from the teacher. , Reflects the virtues of respecting the elders and teachers. It was in the Song Dynasty that the real 'Xiao Nian' was proposed. Song Dynasty Zhou Mi’s 'Wulin Old Events' also said: 'Forbidden to use the 24th of the twelfth lunar month as the small festival night, and the 30th as the big festival.' In other words, the twenty-fourth night of the twelfth lunar month is the New Year’s Eve, and the twelfth lunar month’s 30th is the New Year’s Eve. Today we are talking about the New Year’s Eve, which probably came from this. 'Forbidden' here refers to the imperial palace. It can be seen that Xiaonian is a popular official festival from top to bottom. 3. What day do you live in the new year? Different regions and different groups have different lives. There is a saying of 'three in the south and four in the north.' Southerners have passed 23 and northerners have passed 24. But in many northern areas, they have also passed 23. Another example is that in the Rizhao area of u200bu200bShandong, there is a saying that 'three soldiers and four people' means that soldiers over 23 and ordinary people over 24. What is going on here? In fact, in the Song and Ming dynasties, the time of the small year is very clear. Zhou Mi’s 'Old Wulin Events' stated that it was the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month. In the Qing Dynasty, starting from the Yongzheng dynasty, the emperor also offered sacrifices to the kitchen god on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. As a result, some officials and gentry of the people also started offering sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, resulting in the coexistence of 23 and 24. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, military households and battalions belonged to the military mansion. Their custom of sacrificing stoves must follow the emperor. The 'Yuan'an County Chronicles' in the fifth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty recorded: 'The battalions of the battalion station sacrificed to the stove for twenty-three nights.' The saying 'three soldiers and four people' probably originated from this. So, when should the new year pass? It turns out that you can live as you please, after all, the working hours of Lord Stove are not well adjusted. Next post: How do babies develop good sleeping habits