In the north, the festival of offering sacrifices to stoves, known as "off-year", is also a very important day in Ningde, and the curtain of "Year" is opened from this day. In Ningde, most people sacrifice to the Kitchen God on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and some people choose to sacrifice to the Kitchen God on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. On that day, every household will burn incense and light candles in front of the altar of Kitchen God, and put tea, wine and fruit on the stove to offer sacrifices to "kitchen husband" and "kitchen wife".

Step 2 clean the dust

From the time of offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove to New Year's Eve, a "dust sweeping" (meaning "sweeping the old") will be held this week, that is, all unlucky, unclean and stale things will be swept out of the house. During this time, housewives are busy cleaning and cleaning the house inside and outside.

3. Feeding age

That is, resignation, commonly known as "sub-year", Fuding called "sending year". Friends and relatives all give each other things. Generally, it starts after the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month and ends on New Year's Eve.

4. New Year's Eve

Many young people think that the custom of New Year's Eve is just to eat New Year's Eve and distribute lucky money. In fact, in the traditional customs of Ningde, there are many things to pay attention to on New Year's Eve.

Worship ancestors. From two days before New Year's Eve to the afternoon of New Year's Eve, all families prepared rich banquets and respectfully placed them in the hall for their ancestors to eat. Light candles and incense, and parents will set the wine themselves.

According to age. On New Year's Eve, everyone lights up, which is called "according to the year". Fuding, on the other hand, "sounded the golden drum and exploded the paper", which was called "the year of resignation".

New Year's Eve in Ningde custom, New Year's Eve is called "New Year's Eve", and dishes are given auspicious names, such as "Fu" (tofu) and "Lu" (meat). Red wine with red wine symbolizes a good start. Eating rice cakes means "climbing up the mountain step by step".

Before preparing the New Year's tea for the New Year's Eve dinner, please ask the youngest daughter-in-law to sit at the table for a long time, and the rock sugar tea will be served in turn, and an extra one will be called "Tian Ding Tea". Shouning drinks orange peel syrup first, and then eats melons and fruits, which is called "sweet taste". Xiapu and Ningde eat a bowl of soup first, which is called "walking time", which means "lucky stars shine high".

New year's eve dinner There is a saying in Ningde that "cook semi-cooked rice at the beginning of the year to prepare a new eclipse", and in some places it is called "Chen Bienian". During the Spring Festival, two oranges are put on the rice, which means "there is more than enough to eat".

Lucky money. On New Year's Eve or Spring Festival, the elders give the younger generation lucky money, which means "winning money" and "defeating evil".

Welcome the new year. That is, at 0: 00 in the Spring Festival, every household sets off firecrackers and fireworks, and temples beat gongs and drums to "welcome the new year".

On New Year's Eve, the family reunited in front of the stove, staying up all night, catching up on the old and talking about the new.

Step 5 travel

Going out for the first time in the first month is called "going out". This "going out" can't be taken casually, but in a lucky direction. For example, in those days, "Bailey" had to go north, if "Lin 'an" had to go south. Traveling in the countryside, walking in the fields with hoes.

Step 6 be a white year

Except for the third day of Xiapu County, most counties and cities take the second and fifth days of the first month as white years. It is a custom to have breakfast in a white year, and there is nothing to thank for leaving after eating.