Excerpts from Customs and People's Feelings, Traditional Culture

1, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

In China, the Spring Festival usually begins with offering sacrifices to stoves. Sacrificing a stove is a kind of custom with great influence and wide spread among the people in our country. In the past, almost every kitchen had a kitchen god.

2. Sweep the dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month

"On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, dust sweeps the house". According to Lv Chunqiu, China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying: Because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of cleaning and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the Jade Emperor received him.

According to the ancient custom, when the Kitchen God goes to heaven, the Jade Emperor will personally descend to earth on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month to investigate the good and evil on earth and decide the fortunes of the coming year. Therefore, every household offered his blessing, calling it "Meeting the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and words, strive for good performance, win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring good luck for the coming year.

4. Take a bath on the 27th and 28th of the twelfth lunar month

In traditional folk customs, intensive bathing and washing clothes are needed in these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival next year. There is a saying in Beijing that "twenty-seven washes the sick, twenty-eight washes the sloppy". Taking a bath on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is "washing Fulu".

5. On New Year's Eve of the twelfth lunar month, we will stick up door gods, put up Spring Festival couplets, celebrate the New Year, set off firecrackers, eat New Year's Eve, give lucky money and worship our ancestors.