When is the 2018 Xiaonian Festival? There is a difference in the date between the southern and northern Xiaonian Festivals.

What is the date of the Little New Year in 2018? The Little New Year is coming soon, and there is a difference in the timing of the Little New Year between the north and the south. Next, let’s take a closer look.

What is the date of the 2018 Little New Year?

1. The date of the 2018 Little New Year is: February 8, 2018, which is Thursday, the 23rd day of the 12th month in the lunar calendar. Generally speaking, the Chinese Little New Year refers to the third or twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month every year, as the date of the Little New Year varies from place to place.
2. According to traditional folk culture, Xiaonian is a traditional festival of the Han Chinese. It is also known as Xie Zao, Zao Wang Festival, and Zao Wang Festival. Xiaonian is the day when people worship the Kitchen God. The New Year's Eve in the south and the north is on different days. In the north it is on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, while in the south it is on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

About the customs and activities of Xiaonian

Worship the Kitchen God

As the folk saying goes, "On the 23rd, the sugar melons are sticky and the Kitchen God is going to heaven." During the Little New Year, people will melt Guandong sugar with fire and apply it on the Kitchen God's mouth, so that the Kitchen God can "speak good things to heaven and bring good luck back to the palace" and bless the coming year with peace and tranquility.

Sweep the Year

Sweeping the year means cleaning the house. After the Little New Year, there are only six or seven days left until the Spring Festival. At this time, every household must carefully and thoroughly clean the place, commonly known as sweeping the dust. The purpose of sweeping the dust is to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and to remove bad luck.

Cutting paper-cuts

There are many kinds of folk activities during the Minor New Year, most of which are preparations for the Big New Year. Among them, cutting and pasting window decorations is the most popular folk activity. "Window flowers" are commonly known as paper-cuts. In the past, people in both the south and the north would prepare window flowers to be pasted during the Spring Festival. They not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also were a symbol of good luck.

Eat stove candy

According to the traditional food customs of the Little New Year, people must eat stove candy. Stove candy is a kind of malt sugar that sticks to both mouth and teeth. It was originally meant to be used as food to smear on the mouth of the Kitchen God, and gradually evolved into a must-eat snack for children on the Little New Year. There is a saying in Northwest Shanxi that goes "Eat sesame candy on the 23rd. If you can't have any, bite your fingers."