Chinese celebrate pre-new year festival

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-19-2009 08:37

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Chinese people celebrated "Xiaonian" on Sunday, a traditional lunar festival paying homage to the legendary "Kitchen God".

Tourists visit the bustling snack street of Wangfujing Street  in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 18, 2009, the traditional  Chinese "Little New Year" festival, a week before "New Year," or Spring Festival. The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is  called "xiao nian" in Chinese, which literally means  "Little New Year." Traditionally it is an important occasion  when people offer sacrifices to the "Kitchen God" who looks  after the family's fortunes.(Xinhua/Fan Jiashan)

"Xiaonian" is part of the run-up to the Spring Festival holiday. People usually clean their houses, sticking rhyming couplets to doors, and shopping for the Lunar New Year, which is just a week away.

They also offer sticky "Guandong Sugar" as a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, persuading him not to speak ill of them in front of the Jade Emperor. This is why Guandong Sugar flies off supermarket shelves every year around this time.

New year paintings and paper cuts for windows are also popular, so are red quilts and festival mascots. In many places, temple fairs for the New Year open on Xiaonian with lively traditional performances.