The Minor New Year is a traditional Chinese festival. People believe that the preparations for the Spring Festival begin from the Minor New Year. So, can the Minor New Year be celebrated at someone else's home? What are the customs of the Minor New Year? Let's find out together! The alternative names for the twelfth month of the lunar calendar include: Ice Month, Laba Month, Severe Month, Removal Month, End of Winter, Late Winter, Final Winter, Jiaping, and Star Return. Huayi Calculator Network will accompany you in welcoming the Lunar New Year.

Can the Minor New Year be celebrated at someone else's home?

Yes;
In traditional Chinese culture, the Minor New Year is not a festival for family reunions. If your family does not have traditional activities such as the Kitchen God ceremony, it is possible to celebrate it at someone else's home, and there are no feng shui taboos about this. However, for the Eve of the Lunar New Year, it is necessary to spend it at your own home. The Minor New Year is not strictly defined as a single day; due to regional differences, the date called "Minor New Year" varies. During the Minor New Year period, the main folk customs include cleaning the house and the Kitchen God ceremony.

What are the customs of the Minor New Year?

(1) Kitchen God Ceremony
In the past, almost every household had a "Kitchen God" altar in their kitchen. This deity was known as the "God of the Hearth" or "Kitchen Lord of the Hearth." According to legend, he was appointed by the Jade Emperor as the "Nine Heaven Eastern Kitchen God Lord," responsible for managing the household's cooking and was worshipped as the guardian deity of the family. The Kitchen God altar was usually placed in the north or east of the kitchen, with a portrait of the Kitchen God in the center. For those who did not have an altar, the portrait could be directly pasted on the wall. Some portraits depicted only the Kitchen God, while others showed a couple, with the female figure known as the "Kitchen Goddess."
There is a saying, "Men don't worship the moon, women don't perform the Kitchen God ceremony." In some places, women do not perform the Kitchen God ceremony. It is said that the Kitchen God looks like a young man, and it is considered inappropriate for women to offer sacrifices because of the "gender issue."
(2) Writing Spring Couplets
After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household would write Spring Couplets. The folk tradition emphasizes that where there is a deity, there must be a couplet, and every door and object must have one, so the number of Spring Couplets during the Spring Festival is the most, and the content is the most comprehensive.
(3) Eating Kitchen Sugar
Kitchen sugar is a type of malt sugar with high stickiness. When stretched into long rods, it is called "Guan Dong Tang," and when pulled into flat round shapes, it is called "Tang Gua." In winter, it is placed outside the house. Because of the severe cold, Tang Gua solidifies firmly with tiny bubbles inside, making it crisp, sweet, and crispy, with a unique flavor. Real Guan Dong Tang is extremely hard, cannot be broken by hitting, and must be cut with a knife when eating. It is heavy and fine in texture. It has a slightly sour taste, with no honeycombs in the middle. Each piece weighs one or two taels, and it is relatively expensive. Tang Gua comes in two types: with sesame and without sesame.
(4) Cleaning
After the Kitchen God ceremony, the formal preparations for the Spring Festival officially began. Cleaning is the annual thorough cleaning. In northern China, it is called "cleaning the house," while in southern China, it is called "dusting." It is a traditional habit for Chinese people to clean their homes and keep them tidy before the Spring Festival. Houses, both inside and outside, in front and behind the house, are thoroughly cleaned, and everything is made clean and neat to welcome the new year. The custom of "on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dusting and cleaning the house" has been around for a long time. According to records in the "Lüshi Chunqiu," the custom of cleaning the house during the Spring Festival existed in China as early as the Yao and Shun era. According to folk beliefs, since "dust" (chen) sounds similar to "old" (chen), the custom of spring cleaning means "removing the old and bringing in the new." Its intention is to sweep away all "bad luck" and "ill fortune" out of the door. This custom embodies people's desire to break old habits and establish new ones, and their prayers for bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. Destiny includes directions in health, family luck, power, wealth, and relationships. Understanding it early can help avoid dangers and turn risks into safety.
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