China’s Lunar New Year celebrations begin with rituals and offerings to the kitchen god
It’s a week before the Lunar New Year holiday officially begins, but festivities and rituals are already underway. On the 23rd (or 24th for some places) day of the twelfth lunar month, households around the country honor Zaoshen, the kitchen god or the hearth god(灶神), in anticipation of New Year holiday around the corner. This celebration is known as Xiaonian, Little New Year (小年).