小年是春节的 “热身赛”，但南北方居然不在同一天过，这点我上班第一年才彻底搞清。
我北方长大，大学和第一份工作都在南方。临近小年，我跟老板请假订车票，没想到还起了小争执 —— 我认定的小年，和他认知的不是同一天！这场乌龙让我第一次知道，南北小年竟差了整整一天。
小年的由来都和 “祭灶神” 有关，传说这天灶神要上天向玉皇大帝汇报家事，所以人们会用甜糖瓜粘住他的嘴，盼着他 “上天言好事”。
至于日期差异，相传宋代全国都是腊月二十四过小年，清代皇帝将宫廷祭灶提前到二十三，北方紧邻京城纷纷效仿，便成了二十三过小年；南方坚守古制，依旧是二十四。
习俗也有别：北方扫尘吃糖瓜、饺子，南方 “掸尘” 吃年糕、米饼。虽时间和吃法不同，但核心都是扫去晦气，备好年货，盼着一家人团圆过大年。
Both yesterday and today are Little New Year—a warm-up for the Spring Festival. Many people don’t realize that northern and southern China celebrate it on different days. I didn’t fully understand this until my first year at work.
I grew up in the north, but studied and worked in the south. As Little New Year approached, I asked my boss for leave and booked my ticket. To my surprise, we had a small disagreement—the Little New Year I had in mind wasn’t the same day he meant. That was when I learned the two dates are one day apart.
Little New Year comes from the tradition of honoring the Kitchen God. People believe that on this day, he goes to heaven to report each family’s life to the Jade Emperor. To make sure he says good things, families offer sweet candy to “seal his mouth.”
The date difference comes from history. Long ago, everyone celebrated on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. Later, the royal court moved it to the 23rd. The north followed this change, while the south kept the 24th.
Customs are different too. In the north, people clean their homes and eat candy and dumplings. In the south, people clean the house and eat rice cakes. Different days and foods, but the meaning is the same: to sweep away bad luck, prepare for the New Year, and look forward to family reunion.