The customs on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month include:

1. Worshiping the Kitchen God

On Xiaonian, it is also a day for people to worship the kitchen god. It is said that he is responsible for managing the hearth fires of each household and is worshiped as the protector of the household. Every year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will ascend to heaven to report the good or bad deeds of the family to the Jade Emperor in the sky. Based on the report of the Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor will then assign the good or bad fortune that the family should receive in the new year. The fate is in the hands of the Kitchen God.

2. Sweep the dust

After the Little New Year tomorrow, there are only 5 days left before the Spring Festival. The family is gradually starting to prepare for the New Year. Sweeping is mainly to thoroughly clean the home. Housewives usually cover the bed and furniture in the room, wrap their heads with a scarf, and then sweep the walls up and down with a broom. After sweeping the house, scrub the tables and chairs and rinse the floors.

3. Eating dumplings

Dumplings are part of almost every festival in the north, and eating dumplings on New Year’s Eve means “sending dumplings off to the wind”. When offering the offering, the dumplings should be placed neatly on the offering table. In addition, there is a saying among the people that "dumplings are not as delicious as dumplings". During the Spring Festival, dumplings have become an indispensable delicacy.

Legend of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month:

Once upon a time, there was a man named Zhang Dan who did not want to farm, so he went out to do business and made a fortune. When he returned home, he disliked his wife who was a loser. Married a spendthrift as wife. Zhang Dan is no longer as diligent as before. He is not doing his job outside and his family is in decline. Later, there was a fire, and all his property was burned down, and Zhang Dan became a beggar.

One year on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he came to his wife’s home begging for food. He was so ashamed that he got into the stove and was suffocated to death. In order to warn people not to make mistakes like Zhang Dan, the Jade Emperor named him the Kitchen King. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he went to heaven to report the words and deeds of his family.