今天是農曆臘月二十三，是傳統的小年(有一些地方是臘月二十四過小年)。
小年的英文說法有很多：有直接使用拼音Xiao Nian的，有根據意義翻譯的preliminary eve， 還有字面翻譯的Little New Year和Minor New Year。
小年相關的習俗更是豐富多採，一起了解一下吧!
祭灶
小年，也被叫做灶王節(Kitchen God Festival)，和其他不近人間煙火的神祇不同，灶王爺掌管的範圍就是百姓生活日常的灶臺周邊。祭灶這一儀式也反映了灶王爺親民的可愛形象。
Chinese families believe that the Kitchen God returns to Heaven on this day to report on the activities of every household over the past year to his superior, the Jade Emperor, who will either praise or punish the family based on the Kitchen God's report. Families often offer sweet foods like candy in order to "bribe" the Kitchen God into saying good things about the family.
中國家庭相信這一天灶王爺要上天向玉皇大帝稟報這家人的善惡，讓玉皇大帝賞罰。因此人們在灶王像前的桌案上供放糖果等祭品來「賄賂」灶王爺。
俗話說「二十三，糖瓜粘」，獻給灶王爺的祭品有很多，其中最受孩子們歡迎的就是關東糖了。
糖瓜的主要原料是麥芽糖，還要摻上一些黃米，熬製而成。它的粘性很大，如果拉伸成長條，就叫「關東糖」;搓成扁圓形狀，就叫「糖瓜」。冬天可以把糖瓜放在屋外。因為天氣嚴寒，糖瓜凝固得很堅實，但裡邊又有些微小的氣泡，吃起來涼涼的，脆甜香酥，別有風味。
祭灶的過程中，還要燒掉灶王像，灶王爺隨著青煙飛上天界：
One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, dispatching the god's spirit to Heaven to report on the family's conduct over the past year. The Kitchen God is then welcomed back to the home through the pasting of a new paper image of him beside the stove.
小年最獨特的一個傳統就是焚燒灶王爺的畫像，以此派遣灶王爺的靈到天界去報告過去一年這個家庭的行為。然後在灶旁貼一張他的新畫像來歡迎他回家。
掃除
小年祭灶時也有打掃居所以辭舊迎新的習俗。
In Chinese, the character for "dust" is a homophone of the character for 「the old」. 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.
在中國，「塵土」的「塵」這個漢字與「陳舊」的「陳」同音。中國人相信，當天通過徹底地清掃房子，可以讓他們擺脫過去一年的貧窮和黴運，迎來一個繁榮的新年。
洗澡、剪頭髮
就像打掃居所一樣，洗澡、剪頭髮同樣寓意著去除塵垢辭舊迎新。
The ancient Chinese believed that a haircut in the first month of the Lunar New Year would bring bad luck. People usually wait until the second lunar month to have their hair cut again... In order to fit into the new clothes for the festival, a haircut is highly recommended beforehand.
中國古人相信正月剪頭會帶來黴運，所以人們常等到農曆二月才再次剪髮……因此，為了配合春節穿的新衣服，提前理髮是非常推薦的。
貼窗花、春聯
In the Little New Year, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year's posters, and auspicious decorations are pasted up.
在小年的時候，上個春節時貼的春聯和窗花被摘了下來，新的窗花、年畫和喜慶的裝飾品會被張貼起來。
小年到了，春節也就不遠了。大家家鄉關於小年和新年還有什麼不同的風俗，歡迎補充呀!