What is the traditional off-year in China?

December 23rd and 24th of the lunar calendar are the traditional days for Han people to sacrifice their stoves, also known as "off-year".

The origin of the festival:

Legend has it that the kitchen god was originally a civilian Zhang Sheng. After getting married, he spent all his time drinking and drinking. He lost all his property and went begging in the streets. One day, he begged at his ex-wife Guo Dingxiang's house, ashamed and burned to death under the stove.

When the Jade Emperor knew this, he thought that Zhang Sheng would change his mind and the ending would not be too bad. Since he died at the bottom of the pot, he has been named the king of the kitchen, reporting to the sky every year on the 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and returning to the bottom of the kitchen on New Year's Eve. People think that the kitchen king must be respected because he has to report to heaven. Therefore, the Han people celebrate the "small year" on the 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month, praying for peace and prosperity in the coming year.

In Song Dynasty, Fan Chengda said in his poem "Poem of Sacrificing a Kitchen": "It is said that in ancient times, on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen god spoke to heaven. Clouds and horses are lingering, and there are cups and plates at home. The pig's head is rotten and hot, the fish is fresh, and the bean paste is Gan Song powder bait. When a man tells his daughter to avoid him, he drinks and burns money. You can't smell the struggle of servants, and you won't be angry with the horns of cats and dogs; Send you drunk to Tianmen, never return to the cloud for a long time, and beg for points from the market. " It can be said that this poem vividly illustrates the customs and habits of the ancient Han people about offering sacrifices to stoves. Of course, this is only a legend of the Han people, and it is not credible.