Laba Festival (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month): Eat Laba porridge, make Laba vinegar and Laba garlic
"After the eighth day of the lunar month is the New Year." The eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar is the Laba Festival, which is considered to have played the prelude to the Spring Festival. On that day, in many places, the Laba porridge is drunk to remind people of the virtue of diligence and frugality.
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Little New Year (the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month ): Sacrifice to the Kitchen God, make paper-cuts to windows and write Spring Festival Couplets
Little New Year falls on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month when people in north China will "Song Zao Shen", which means offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. According to folk legend, the Kitchen God, on this day, will report the goodness and evilness of people to the Jade Emperor and then ...
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House Cleaning Day (the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month): Clean houses
The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is normally recognized as the traditional House Cleaning Day when the Spring Festival will come next week. Every household in China will do home cleaning and sweep clean every corner of their houses.
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Gan Luan Sui (the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month): Jie Yu Huang, paste paper-cuts to window
According to folk belief, the Jade Emperor will descend to the earth on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, inspecting for the goodness and evilness and determining the weal and woe.
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The twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month: Butcher a pig and get some meat to prepare for the New Year feast
During early days, people get hardly access to meat because of undeveloped social economy. Children in rural areas always looked forward to this day when their parents must slaughter their livestock or buy quantities of meat to celebrate the Spring Festival.
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The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month : Go to temple fair
On that Day, Chinese people will go to the temple fair to prepare things for the Spring Festival including firecrackers, Spring Festival couplets, sacrificial paper money, meat and toys for children and decorations. The temple fair witnesses the bustling business. All Chinese people will also bath and clean up clothes to ...
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The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month: Leaven the dough, make the wheaten staple food
To better preserve the staple food, Chinese people prepare wheaten food for the Spring Festival on that day which will be eaten from the first day of the first lunar month till the fifth day when people think staple food cannot be made according to folk belief.
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The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month : Steam mantou
On the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth days of the twelfth lunar month, people will leaven the dough and steam mantou with the bless of fortune, wealth and happiness in the following year.
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The Eve of the Spring Festival (the last day of the twelfth lunar month): Worship ancestors, prepare for family reunion dinner, and stay up
On the eve of the Spring Festival, worshipping ancestors, preparing for family reunion dinner and staying up (Chinese: shou tai sui) are the most important activities. After the worship, all family members will have New Year's Eve dinner together and then stay up all night for the coming of the New Year.
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The first day of the first lunar month: Play firecrackers, make visits
On the 1st day of the first lunar month, Chinese people will play firecrackers which means cleaning away the old and the dirt in the past and welcome the new and the good in the next year. The traditional custom that has been inherited over 2,000 years.
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The second day of the first lunar month: Visit parents
On the second day of the first lunar month, married daughters will visit parents together with their children and husbands. It was said that the gifts prepared by the married couple must be in pairs. However, parents could not receive all gifts and the couples take parts of gifts home.
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The third day of the first lunar month: Go to bed early
The third day of the first lunar month was believed to be the day when daughters of rats were married so people would go to bed early for the fear of interrupting them. If rats were interrupted, crops would be ruined by them.
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The fourth day of the first lunar month：Welcome the return of the Kitchen God
It was said to be the day when the Kitchen God would return from the heaven to the earth. People will prepare with meat of livestock, fruits, dishes and burn incenses. In the past if employers weren't invited to attend this activity by the employees, employers would know that they were fired.
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The fifth day of the first lunar month: Welcome the God of Wealth, send off the God of Poverty
On that day, the customs of welcoming the God of Wealth and sending off the God of Poverty will be hold. It was said to be the birthday of the God of Wealth when Chinese people prepare a feast to celebrate for the god. In the early morning, they will also blast firecrackers to welcome the God of Wealth.
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The fifteenth day of the first lunar month: Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also called Shang Yuan Festival, is the first important grand festival in the whole year. The customs of Lantern Festival vary across China, of which eating Yuanxiao, enjoying festive lanterns, dragon and lion dance are the most important.
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