Off-year is a traditional festival of which ethnic group in China.

Off-year is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China, also known as Xie Zao, Zao Zao Festival, Zao Wang Festival and Zao Zao Festival. In different places, the date is different, and it is the 23rd or 24th or 25th of the twelfth lunar month (folklore experts say that there is a tradition of "three officials, four people, four boats and five people" in ancient times, that is to say, the official off-year is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the people's home is the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and the houseboat is the 25th of the twelfth lunar month. Like the north, before the Southern Song Dynasty, it was a political center and was greatly influenced by bureaucracy, so the off-year was mostly the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. On the contrary, the south is far from the political center, and the off-year is the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Residents along the lake, such as Poyang Lake, keep the tradition of boating, and the next year is set on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month. "No matter which day passes the off-year, people have the same desire to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new". In some areas such as Sichuan and Guizhou, the 30th of the twelfth lunar month is a small year, and the 15th of the first month is a big year. In some areas of Shandong, the off-year is the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month. Off-year is considered as the beginning of the New Year in China.