North:

1, jiaozi: In the north, jiaozi is usually eaten on the 23rd night of the twelfth lunar month, because the kitchen god will report to heaven on this day. People cooked jiaozi and put it on the altar, which means "seeing jiaozi off in the wind".

2. Sticky cakes: In some areas of Shandong, sticky cakes are steamed every year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. Sticky cake is a kind of sweet cake made of yellow rice and red dates. This is to block the kitchen god's mouth and let him only say good things when reporting his work to the Jade Emperor.

3. Sesame candy: In the northwest of Shanxi, sesame candy should be eaten on New Year's Eve. Sesame candy in Datong, Shanxi Province is made of high-quality millet, then mixed with ground millet flour, and fermented and solidified by a special process, including jade bone sesame candy, crisp sesame candy, brewed sesame candy, melon egg candy and plate candy. No matter what kind of sesame candy it is, it is to stick to the mouth of the kitchen god, so as not to report the delicious and luxurious things on earth to the sky.

4, Kwantung sugar: Kwantung sugar, also known as Kitchen God sugar, can only be eaten all year round. Kwantung sugar is a kind of sugar product with special flavor, which is made of malt and millet. Guandong sugar is fragrant, crisp and sticky, and is mainly used for offering sacrifices to stoves. When offering sacrifices to the stove, you should melt the Kwantung sugar with fire and smear it on the mouth of the kitchen god, so that the kitchen god can't speak ill of the jade emperor.

5, honeydew melon: "Twenty-three, honeydew melon stick", this folk song should be heard by many people. Melon is similar to kwantung sugar, except that kwantung sugar is long and flat, which is honeydew melon. It tastes crisp, sweet and sticky.

6. Fried corn: There is a custom of eating fried corn on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month in southeastern Shanxi. People stick fried corn together with maltose and freeze it into pieces, which tastes crisp, sweet and crisp.

7. Noodle flowers: On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, people in Shandong Peninsula are busy steaming jujube buns, reunion cakes, peaches and other pasta, also called noodle flowers.

8. Fire: In Heping Mountain, Luohe, Henan Province, jiaozi is not eaten on New Year's Eve, but every family cooks by themselves. Burning is also called sesame seed cake, which is almost equal to off-year Locals say that a small year without burning is not a complete small year.

South:

1, New Year Cake: During the off-year period, generally, the north pays attention to wrapping jiaozi, while the south is more accustomed to making New Year Cake. The shape of jiaozi is like a "gold ingot" and the sound of rice cakes is like a "rice cake", which is a good sign of good luck. Every year, in the south, it is a day for every family to steam and eat rice cakes, which means keeping the mouth of the kitchen king shut and letting him speak well of heaven instead of the world. In addition, Hainan people use coconuts as ingredients to make coconut cakes for eating and praying, which means "high every year".

2, rice cakes: Guangxi Wuxuan, Guiping and other places have the custom of making rice cakes. The rice cake is made of glutinous rice flour as the main material, peanuts, sesame seeds and sugar as the ingredients. It is made into a round shape in a mold and then steamed at high temperature, which has a unique flavor and the meaning of "round and round".

3. Nianzong: Nanning people have the custom of eating Nianzong in the New Year. Zongzi is a symbol of good luck in the New Year. As the saying goes, "Nian Zongzi is the year of high school". On the Dragon Boat Festival, Nian Zongzi is different from Liang Zongzi. It has stuffing, big and small, long and short, round and flat. After peeling off the leaves, the skin is glutinous rice, and the stuffing is mung bean and pork. Some people use their favorite food as stuffing.

4. Killing pigs: The custom of killing pigs during the Spring Festival is observed in Landong of Lianhua, Xinhe of Xiling and Shuian Shanzhai of Guanyin in Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County. After the Lunar New Year's Eve, there will be a lively drama to kill the pig. Choose the best meat, stir-fry or stew it, cook it carefully, then fill a glass of wine, and invite friends and relatives to share the first piece of fresh meat after pig slaughter in 2008-winter soup.

5. Tangyuan: Southerners should eat Tangyuan in winter solstice, off-year, New Year and Lantern Festival, with various varieties.

6. Eleocharis tuberosa: Sugarcane and Eleocharis tuberosa are essential for the old Fuzhou sacrificial stove, which means "sweet and sweet". Water chestnut is a homonym of Fuzhou dialect, which means "good luck lasts from the beginning of the year to the end of the year".

7. Twenty-four groups: "Eating jiaozi 24 hours a day" is a custom in many places in the south of the Yangtze River, which means that the whole family is round and happy. In Suzhou, it is necessary to pack jiaozi, send jiaozi and eat jiaozi on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. The most important sacrifice on the cooking stove of Suzhou people is jiaozi, formerly called "Twenty-four Tuanzi". "Twenty-four Tuans" are made of glutinous rice flour, and the fillings include fresh meat, bean paste and shredded radish. There are marks on steamed dumplings, which are round, square and petal-shaped to distinguish different fillings.

Due to different local customs, its date is also different:

South:

Most areas in the south: the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangxi regions: The day of offering sacrifices to stoves on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month is called "offering sacrifices to stoves", and the day before New Year's Eve is called "New Year's Eve", as opposed to "New Year's Day". Here, "Lunar New Year's Eve" and "Lunar New Year's Eve" refer to the whole day, not necessarily the evening, and there is no so-called "Lunar New Year".

Taiwan Province Province: The day before New Year's Eve.

Nanjing area: the fifteenth day of the first month, that is, the Lantern Festival (Lantern Festival)

In some areas, there is a custom of sending kitchen gods on the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month, which has also become a small year in this area.

North:

Most parts of northern China: the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.