从“小年夜”到除夕
From "little new year's Eve" to new year's Eve
春节踏着农历12月24日零时的钟声，走入桂林的城乡。这天是桂林人的“小年夜”，也就是“过小年”。过小年这天，人们宰狗、杀鸭，庆贺春节来临。这天的爆竹声，带着人们送灶王爷“上天言好事”的心愿噼哩啪啦地炸响，声传高宇。人们认为灶神是一家之主，一家的善恶功过祸福都由它掌管，所以每年将尽，都要送灶神上天向玉帝奏明，为全家降福免灾。祭灶的仪式多由家里的长辈去办，他们将糖果放在灶头祭祀灶神，祈求灶神“上天言好事，下凡降吉祥”。用糖果祭灶神，目的是让糖“粘住”灶神的嘴巴，让他甜甜的嘴巴尽说好话。除夕夜幕降临后，再放爆竹接灶王爷下凡。这是桂林“过小年”的古俗，现在即便是鸣放鞭炮，也仅是古俗遗存的仪式罢了。
The Spring Festival steps into the urban and rural areas of Guilin with the chime of 0:00 on December 24 of the lunar calendar. This day is Guilin people's "small New Year's Eve", that is, "Celebrating the small new year". On the new year's day, people slaughter dogs and ducks to celebrate the Spring Festival. This day's firecracker sound, with people to send the kitchen Lord "Heaven say good things" wish crackle crackled, the sound spread to Gao Yu. It is believed that the kitchen god is the head of the family, who is in charge of all the good and evil deeds and blessings of the family. Therefore, every year, the kitchen god will be sent to heaven to show the jade emperor the blessings and avoid disasters for the whole family. The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove is usually held by the elders of the family. They put candy on the kitchen stove to offer sacrifices to the kitchen god, praying that the kitchen god would "say good things to heaven and descend to the earth for good luck". The purpose of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god with candy is to make the sugar "stick" the kitchen god's mouth and let his sweet mouth speak well. When night falls on New Year's Eve, firecrackers will be set off to catch the kitchen god. This is the ancient custom of "passing a small year" in Guilin. Now even the firecrackers are only the remains of the ancient custom.
从腊月二十四到三十，人们忙着置办年货，打扫居室内外，以干干净净迎接新年。过节的传统食品种类繁多，且寓有美好的愿望：腊月二十九蒸年糕，年糕有甜、有成、有荤、有素，吃了年糕（高），新的一年生活、工作蒸蒸日上，步步高升。
From the 24th to the 30th of the 12th lunar month, people are busy buying new year's products, cleaning the inside and outside of the room, and greeting the new year cleanly. There are many kinds of traditional food for the festival, and they have good wishes: steamed rice cakes on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, which are sweet, successful, meaty and vegetarian. After eating rice cakes (high), the life and work of the new year are thriving and rising step by step.
除夕的晚餐，人们喜欢阖家团聚，菜肴中必有“圆子”、“欢喜”，取其团团圆圆，欢欢喜喜之意。这个夜晚，万人空巷，都在家中守岁。守岁时，要把火盆的炭火烧得红红火火，以象征生活岁岁兴旺。当零时一到，老老少少喜气盈盈，以爆竹声声迎接新年。这喜炮声不绝于耳，此起彼伏，直到更深夜静，人们仍无睡意，炉火依然旺着，就是要去休息，也依然不会忘记把火盆的火偎好，留下火种，等明天一早燃上一盆好火。新年的火种犹如人的生命，它是新年财旺、家旺的好兆头。人们对火的感情如此深厚，或许是因为火给人类带来了文明、带来了温暖吧。爱火就如同热爱自己的生命，在新年尤其如此。
New year's Eve dinner, people like family reunion, there must be "Yuanzi" and "Huanxi" in the dishes, take the meaning of "Yuanzi" and "Huanxi". This night, all the people are at home. When keeping the year, we should burn the charcoal fire in the fire pot to symbolize the prosperity of life. When zero o'clock arrives, the old and the young are full of joy and welcome the new year with the sound of firecrackers. The sound of this happy cannon is heard all the time, one after another, until the deeper night, people are still sleepless and the fire is still burning. Even if we want to have a rest, we will not forget to snuggle up the fire in the fire basin, leave the fire seeds, and burn a good fire in the morning tomorrow. The kindling of the new year is like human life. It's a good omen for a prosperous new year. People have such deep feelings for fire, maybe it's because fire brings civilization and warmth to human beings. Love fire is like loving your life, especially in the new year.