In the south, we all know that the lunar new year is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, and people still maintain some traditional customs, which continue to be passed down. Most of the days in the south are the same, but in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the days in the south are not the same, such as Shanghai. Then do you know when Shanghai will celebrate the New Year? How is it different from the south?

the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month (the day of offering sacrifices to stoves) is October 21th. The "off-year" in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Shanghai, usually refers to the day before New Year's Eve, and the day is not particularly particular; However, with the acceleration of urban life, there are not many Shanghainese who still keep the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves.

released on 18/11/2112

According to the Morning News, today is the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and it is also the day of offering sacrifices to stoves in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Various families prepare zongzi candy and glutinous rice balls to give "sugar-coated shells" to the kitchen god, which also means that from today on, the people in the south of the Yangtze River will formally enter various preparations and celebrations for the Spring Festival. Yesterday, on the platform of Weibo, netizens from all over the world had a lively exchange around "offering sacrifices to stoves" and "off-year", showing the differences between the customs of the North and the South. The reporter also took the opportunity to interview folk experts to interpret Shanghai's offering sacrifices to stoves.

the saying of "off-year" is different between the north and the south

regarding the day of offering sacrifices to stoves, people in the north commonly call it "off-year", and there is a saying that "twenty-three candied melons are sticky", which means that every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God goes to report the merits and demerits of the year to the Jade Emperor, and God chooses to bring good or bad to every family by what he plays. People use maltose to make "candied melon", thinking that it can make the mouth of the kitchen god sweet, and put in a lot of kind words in front of the jade emperor, and also use sugar to stick his mouth to prevent him from saying more, in order to have a good weather and good luck in the coming year.

Yesterday in Weibo, netizens from all over the world made "off-year" a hot topic. "Today, Xiao Nian has dinner with his family" and "Xiao Nian has dumplings after the party". Reunion in Xiao Nian is a custom in many areas. Some netizens took photos of their jiaozi in Weibo, and some netizens said that they had just set off firecrackers downstairs.

However, Xue Liyong, an expert in Shanghai folklore, told reporters yesterday that the "off-year" in Shanghai and other areas in the south of the Yangtze River usually refers to the day before New Year's Eve, and that day is not particularly particular. However, with the acceleration of urban life, there are not many Shanghainese who still keep the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves.

Sweet and sticky food is popular in Shanghai's sacrificial stoves

Xue Liyong introduced the custom, saying that the kitchen god has two responsibilities: one is to be the protector of the family and protect the well-being of family members; The second is to act as a "disciplinary inspection Committee member" responsible for supervising people's words and deeds. In Shanghai, the traditional food on the day of kitchen sacrifice is zongzi sugar, maltose and glutinous rice dumplings, and the sweet and sticky "sugar-coated shells" make the kitchen god only say good things.

In addition, the food offering sacrifices to the kitchen in Shanghai is also related to dialect homophony. For example, on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, we are used to eating chestnut (also called water chestnut and horseshoe). In Shanghai dialect, "ground" and "sweet" are homonyms, so the homonym of chestnut stands for sweetness, which makes the kitchen god say more good things. The word "ci" of Ci (also known as "arrowhead mushroom") is homophonic with "yes" in Shanghai dialect, so Ci is also a traditional food for Shanghainese to sacrifice their stoves. I hope that the kitchen god will only say "yes, yes" in front of the Jade Emperor.

Different from the south, in the north, besides eating candied melons on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, they also like to eat jiaozi, which means "seeing off guests at a dinner party in jiaozi", and some places need to be burned. Although the time of offering sacrifices to stoves and food are different in the north and south, their intentions and expectations are the same.

Xue Liyong added that Shanghainese had a general cleaning on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, sweeping away the dust of the old year to welcome the New Year. The 26th is an auspicious day for Shanghainese to get married, because after the kitchen god was sent away on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, there was no one to supervise the family members for the time being, so they could do something "out of line", and the "out of line behavior" such as getting married and getting drunk was just right at this time.

It seems that the customs of off-year in Shanghai are similar, but they are somewhat different from those in the south in terms of terms and time, which should be the difference of regional culture.