When will the off-year be celebrated?

In the north, the twelfth lunar month is the New Year.

The 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is a traditional small year in the north. The days in the south are different from those in the north, mostly on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. Off-year is the prelude to the Spring Festival. After the New Year, every household began to prepare for the Spring Festival. Folklore "Twenty-three, cantaloupes are sticky, and the kitchen owner wants to go to heaven."

Before the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the Lunar New Year was also celebrated on the 24th in northern China. Since the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the emperor's family held a ceremony to worship heaven on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. In order to "save money", they also worship the kitchen god, so people in the north also celebrate the 23rd day of the lunar calendar one day in advance.