齊月

小年究竟是哪一天？

一進農(nóng)歷臘月，總會掀起關(guān)于小年日期的討論。因地域及風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣的不同，全國各地過小年的日子也不相同，時間橫跨臘月二十三到新一年的正月十五。濟南的小年是臘月二十三，這一天也被稱為“辭灶日”。相傳，灶王爺本為天上的星宿，因犯錯而被貶至人間管理各家的灶火，并奉命監(jiān)察人間善惡。祭灶時，人們會將舊的灶王像燒掉，讓灶王爺順順利利回到天上，稟報這家人過去一年的善惡。同時，人們還會在灶王像前供上糖瓜、水餃等祭品，燃香燭祝禱，祈求灶王爺吃糖后粘住嘴、甜了心，“上天言好事，回宮降吉祥”“好事傳上天，壞事丟一邊”。

當(dāng)下，祭灶的儀式已不多見，但吃糖瓜的風(fēng)俗卻保留了下來，已有100多年歷史的陳樓糖瓜便是很多濟南人的不二選擇?！瓣悩翘枪现谱骷妓嚒比脒x山東省級非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)名錄，其選料考究，先是選擇優(yōu)質(zhì)的大麥、小米，再通過泡麥芽、熬糖稀、拔糖、成型、粘芝麻等工序完成。

小年這天，“掃塵”也是必不可少的一項。這時候，笤帚、拖把、抹布等工具齊上陣，人們會給家里來個里里外外的大掃除，倒掉塵土，也清除過去一整年的不愉快。很多人也會選擇這一天來沐浴、理發(fā)，為的就是清清爽爽辭舊迎新。

過小年迎大年，小年是春節(jié)的序幕。無論你家是臘月二十三，還是臘月二十四，日期雖不同，但煙火氣里的年味兒是相同的，人們對于辭舊迎新的美好愿望也是相同的。

Xiao Nian， literally meaning “Minor New Year” in Chinese， is always considered to be the prologue of the Spring Festival， which kicks off a series of preparations that need to be done before the coming of the Spring Festivals Eve.

The day is also known as the day to honor the Kitchen God. According to Chinese mythology， the Kitchen God returns to heaven on this day to report to the God of Heaven， on the situation of every household during the past lunar year. People will offer various foods， especially candies， to the Kitchen God to make sure that he wont speak ill of their families.

There is a Chinese tradition of cleaning the house on the day， which is named “sweeping the dust”. By giving the house a thorough cleanse on the day， Chinese people believe that this would rid them of their poverty and bad luck from the previous year， so as to welcome a prosperous new year. In order to fit into the new clothes for the festival， a haircut is highly recommended beforehand.

The habits and traditions of the Xiao Nian are slightly different across China， but peoples wishes and expectations for a new lunar year are similar.