Why do we need to do a thorough cleaning on the Little New Year? The origin and meaning of the Little New Year cleaning

On the day of Little New Year, every family has to "send the Kitchen God to the West", commonly known as "saying goodbye to the Kitchen God". According to traditional customs, every household will thoroughly clean every corner of their home on the day of Little New Year. So, why do we need to do a thorough cleaning on the Little New Year?

Why do we need to clean up during the New Year?

The period from the Kitchen God Festival to New Year's Eve is called "Welcoming Spring Day" or "Dust Sweeping Day" by the people. The year-end cleaning is called "sweeping the house" in the north and "dusting" in the south. During the Little New Year, every household will thoroughly clean every corner of their home in order to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Sweeping the dust means sweeping away all the old things, which refers to both the old dirt in the courtyard and the unpleasantness encountered in the old year. Among the folk customs of cleaning, there is also "washing blessings and fortune" on the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month. According to traditional customs, people would bathe and wash clothes together on these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the previous year and prepare for the New Year.

The Origin of the Little Year Sweeping Dust

This spring cleaning also has a story. Legend has it that the ancients believed that there were three corpse gods in every person's body, and they were inseparable from the person. He loved to gossip and often talked about the faults of others in front of the Jade Emperor. Before New Year's Eve one year, he made spider marks on the eaves and corners of every household, in an attempt to get the Jade Emperor to kill everyone.

When the Kitchen God found out about this, he became very anxious, and said that from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the New Year's Eve, every household must clean their house thoroughly. If a household did not do so, the Kitchen God would refuse to enter. Everyone followed the instructions, swept the dust, dusted off the cobwebs, and made the place clean and tidy. On New Year's Eve, the gods in heaven were ordered to descend to the mortal world to check, and they found that the world was extremely beautiful and not at all like what the Three Corpse Gods had described. From then on, there was the custom of "dusting and sweeping the house on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month." According to "Lüshi Chunqiu", this custom existed in my country during the Yao and Shun era. There is also a saying among the people: Dust and Chen are homophones, so sweeping the dust means bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

The meaning of sweeping the dust on the Little New Year

By the twelfth lunar month, every household starts preparing for the New Year. The purpose of sweeping the house is to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and to remove bad luck. Every household must clean carefully and thoroughly to make sure the windows and tables are clean. In Beijing, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month is usually designated as "House Cleaning Day".

Dust sweeping mainly means cleaning the house thoroughly. Housewives usually cover the beds and furniture in the room first, wrap their heads with a headscarf, and then sweep the walls from top to bottom with a broom. After sweeping the house, wipe the tables and chairs and rinse the floor. After the house cleaning, all shops and residents' homes look brand new. The newly posted Spring Festival couplets are bright and eye-catching, showing a prosperous and auspicious scene. The vivid door gods, the banners wishing happiness when looking up, the exquisite window grilles, the colorful New Year pictures, the lanterns decorated with flowers, and the abundant offerings on the shrines all display the joyous and prosperous festival scene.