Chinese Little New Year, the Kitchen God Festival

The Little New Year ( ‘小年--Xiaonian’ in Chinese, also called the Minor New Year’s Day), usually falls a week before the lunar New Year. In 2023, it falls on Jan.14. The Chinese Little New Year is not a fixed festival as it varies with local customs. Folk activities during the Little New Year mainly include sweeping dust and worshipping Kitchen God. So, the day is also called the Festival of the Kitchen God (the deity who oversees the moral character of each household). Chinese Little New Year means that Chinese people begin to prepare special purchases for the Spring Festival and are ready to spend a clean Spring Festival. Also, it suggests a new year with a new image and expresses the good wishes of Chinese people to ring out the Old Year and ring in the New Year.

Worshipping Kitchen God is the most important folk activity in the Chinese Little New Year. Legend has it that Kitchen God was a rich man named Zhang Shan, who married a good wife Guo Dingxiang but divorced and remarried a woman Li Haitang. The second wife was gluttonous and lazy, and she quickly spent all the money of Zhang Family and remarried another man. Zhang Shan experienced the family decline and suffered a fire, becoming a beggar. One day, he begged a family for food and the hostess offered him food – it turned out that it was his ex-wife that offered him the food. He was so ashamed that he got into the chamber of the kitchen range and was burnt to death. The Jade Emperor learned the news and thought Zhang Shan was not so bad since he could change his mind. Therefore, the Jade Emperor gave him the title of Kitchen God since he died in the kitchen, and ordered him to report on 23rd and 24th of the 12th lunar month and come back on the New Year's Eve. Chinese people respected the Kitchen God because he would report to the Heaven. Therefore, folk China formed the custom of worshipping Kitchen God on 23rd or 24th of the 12th lunar month to pray for peace and prosperity in the coming year.