Colorful China Nian Handwritten Newspaper

The 23rd or 24th day of the end of the year is called "off-year" among the people, and people have been busy since childhood. Off-year doesn't mean a certain day. Due to local customs, the days called off-year are different. During the off-year period, the main folk activities include sweeping dust and offering sacrifices to stoves. Before the Qing Dynasty, the traditional festival of offering sacrifices to stoves in the off-year was the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Since the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the emperor's family held a ceremony to worship heaven on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. In order to "save money", they also worship the kitchen god, so the folks in the northern region have followed suit, mostly on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. In most parts of the south, the old tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month is still maintained.