小娃娃你别馋

过了腊八就是年

二十三灶王爷上天

二十四写对纸

二十五做豆腐

二十六化猪肉

二十七宰年鸡

二十八把面发

二十九糊香斗

三十祭神

初一叩头

Little baby, don't be greedy ! After the 8th day of the 12th moon the [new] year [will soon be] here. On the 23rd the Stove God goes up to heaven; on the 24th we write [New Year] couplets. On the 25th we make bean-curd. On the 26th we melt pork. On the 27th we kill the year-fowl for sacrifice. On the 28th we raise [with yeast, i.e., make ready to be eaten] the vermicelli. On the 29th we paste [new paper round] the rice-measure. On the eve of the 30th we worship the gods. On the first [day of the New Year] we k'ou-tou [kowtow: offer New Year congratulations.] 

[Fêng-t'ien in winter is a very cold land, where pork freezes as soon as killed and has to be thawed before use. This is done by heating over a fire or by soaking in hot water. In poor villages, bean-curd is not usually eaten except at the New Year, for the sake of economy. Pork is bought before the 23rd day because it is then cheaper, and is kept in cold storage until the 26th. 香斗 is a rice-measure made of bamboo splints and pasted on the outside with paper. It is filled with rice, in which incense sticks are stuck. The rectangular ones are called 斗, the round ones 炉 . ]