过小年，迎大年

齐月

小年究竟是哪一天？

一進农历腊月，总会掀起关于小年日期的讨论。因地域及风俗习惯的不同，全国各地过小年的日子也不相同，时间横跨腊月二十三到新一年的正月十五。济南的小年是腊月二十三，这一天也被称为“辞灶日”。相传，灶王爷本为天上的星宿，因犯错而被贬至人间管理各家的灶火，并奉命监察人间善恶。祭灶时，人们会将旧的灶王像烧掉，让灶王爷顺顺利利回到天上，禀报这家人过去一年的善恶。同时，人们还会在灶王像前供上糖瓜、水饺等祭品，燃香烛祝祷，祈求灶王爷吃糖后粘住嘴、甜了心，“上天言好事，回宫降吉祥”“好事传上天，坏事丢一边”。

当下，祭灶的仪式已不多见，但吃糖瓜的风俗却保留了下来，已有100多年历史的陈楼糖瓜便是很多济南人的不二选择。“陈楼糖瓜制作技艺”入选山东省级非物质文化遗产名录，其选料考究，先是选择优质的大麦、小米，再通过泡麦芽、熬糖稀、拔糖、成型、粘芝麻等工序完成。

小年这天，“扫尘”也是必不可少的一项。这时候，笤帚、拖把、抹布等工具齐上阵，人们会给家里来个里里外外的大扫除，倒掉尘土，也清除过去一整年的不愉快。很多人也会选择这一天来沐浴、理发，为的就是清清爽爽辞旧迎新。

过小年迎大年，小年是春节的序幕。无论你家是腊月二十三，还是腊月二十四，日期虽不同，但烟火气里的年味儿是相同的，人们对于辞旧迎新的美好愿望也是相同的。

Xiao Nian， literally meaning “Minor New Year” in Chinese， is always considered to be the prologue of the Spring Festival， which kicks off a series of preparations that need to be done before the coming of the Spring Festivals Eve.

The day is also known as the day to honor the Kitchen God. According to Chinese mythology， the Kitchen God returns to heaven on this day to report to the God of Heaven， on the situation of every household during the past lunar year. People will offer various foods， especially candies， to the Kitchen God to make sure that he wont speak ill of their families.

There is a Chinese tradition of cleaning the house on the day， which is named “sweeping the dust”. By giving the house a thorough cleanse on the day， Chinese people believe that this would rid them of their poverty and bad luck from the previous year， so as to welcome a prosperous new year. In order to fit into the new clothes for the festival， a haircut is highly recommended beforehand.

The habits and traditions of the Xiao Nian are slightly different across China， but peoples wishes and expectations for a new lunar year are similar.