臘二十四，除舊迎新歲！
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俗話說「臘月二十四，除塵掃房子。」祭祀灶王爺之後、到除夕之前的這幾天，家家忙活張羅做各種迎接新年的準備。
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第一項任務就是打掃衛生，清掃屋裡屋外的灰塵，拆洗窗簾被褥，清洗杯盤碗碟，「塵」與「陳」同音，因此新春掃塵也有「除陳布新」的寓意。打掃乾淨後，再貼上春聯、福字、年畫、窗花、門神，把家裡家外點綴得紅火鮮亮。
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第二項任務準備美食。除了各種佳餚美味，年糕和花饃是此時餐桌上最應景的，糯米製成的白年糕、黃米製成的黃年糕，分別代表白銀和黃金，希望「財富年年高」；蒸花饃是展示家庭主婦靈巧手藝的機會，把饅頭做成動物、花朵等吉祥物造型，為團圓飯增添一抹喜慶。
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除了居室環境的清潔，我們的內心是不是也要掃一掃呢？
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想想今年犯過哪些錯誤？有哪個毛病需要修正？和誰有小矛盾？打個電話、發個短信，就此揮別過去。
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新年要有新氣象，不能虛長一歲，人也要更成熟、處事更加圓滿。
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＃臘二十四、#除陳布新、#掃塵
Out with the old and in with the new on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month!
As the saying goes, “24th of the twelfth lunar month is the time to do some spring cleaning around the house.” After offering prayers to the Kitchen God to the eve of the Lunar New Year, every household is busy with all kinds of preparation to welcome the new year.
First on the list is cleaning – dusting both the inside and outside of the house, taking down the curtains and bedsheets for laundry, and washing the cutlery, plates and cups. The Chinese words for “dust” and “old” sound similar, which is why the act of cleaning (clearing of dust) is symbolic of replacing the old things with the new. After the cleaning is complete, out comes the spring couplets, “Fu” word (means good fortune in Chinese), new year paintings, window decorations, images of door gods to be put up. At the end of it, both the inside and outside of the house sparkle with festive decorations.
The second task on the list is the preparation of food. In addition to many different varieties of delicious dishes, there are also special festive food such as nian gao(also known as New Year’s cake) and the flower buns. The white nian gao made from glutinous rice and its yellow version made from millet represent silver and gold respectively. It symbolizes the wishes of the people to be blessed with more riches in the coming year. Making the steamed flower buns, on the other hand, is an opportunity for the housewives to show off their skills. The buns in the shapes of different animals and flowers bring out the festive spirit during the reunion dinner.
Other than cleaning our living accommodation, shouldn’t we also clean our minds? Let us reflect on the mistakes that we have made and the bad habits that we have formed in the past year. Think about who we have fallen out with – give them a call or send them a simple text message. Whatever you have quarreled about, let it be water under the bridge. In the new year, as we are one year older, let us also be one year wiser. We ought to gain in maturity and be better able to handle things and events around us.
#TwentyFourthOfTwelfthLunarMonth, #ReplaceOldWithNew, #DustingAndCleaningrnrn臘二十四，除舊迎新歲！
.
俗話說「臘月二十四，除塵掃房子。」祭祀灶王爺之後、到除夕之前的這幾天，家家忙活張羅做各種迎接新年的準備。
.
第一項任務就是打掃衛生，清掃屋裡屋外的灰塵，拆洗窗簾被褥，清洗杯盤碗碟，「塵」與「陳」同音，因此新春掃塵也有「除陳布新」的寓意。打掃乾淨後，再貼上春聯、福字、年畫、窗花、門神，把家裡家外點綴得紅火鮮亮。
.
第二項任務準備美食。除了各種佳餚美味，年糕和花饃是此時餐桌上最應景的，糯米製成的白年糕、黃米製成的黃年糕，分別代表白銀和黃金，希望「財富年年高」；蒸花饃是展示家庭主婦靈巧手藝的機會，把饅頭做成動物、花朵等吉祥物造型，為團圓飯增添一抹喜慶。
.
除了居室環境的清潔，我們的內心是不是也要掃一掃呢？
.
想想今年犯過哪些錯誤？有哪個毛病需要修正？和誰有小矛盾？打個電話、發個短信，就此揮別過去。
.
新年要有新氣象，不能虛長一歲，人也要更成熟、處事更加圓滿。
.
＃臘二十四、#除陳布新、#掃塵
Out with the old and in with the new on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month!
As the saying goes, “24th of the twelfth lunar month is the time to do some spring cleaning around the house.” After offering prayers to the Kitchen God to the eve of the Lunar New Year, every household is busy with all kinds of preparation to welcome the new year.
First on the list is cleaning – dusting both the inside and outside of the house, taking down the curtains and bedsheets for laundry, and washing the cutlery, plates and cups. The Chinese words for “dust” and “old” sound similar, which is why the act of cleaning (clearing of dust) is symbolic of replacing the old things with the new. After the cleaning is complete, out comes the spring couplets, “Fu” word (means good fortune in Chinese), new year paintings, window decorations, images of door gods to be put up. At the end of it, both the inside and outside of the house sparkle with festive decorations.
The second task on the list is the preparation of food. In addition to many different varieties of delicious dishes, there are also special festive food such as nian gao(also known as New Year’s cake) and the flower buns. The white nian gao made from glutinous rice and its yellow version made from millet represent silver and gold respectively. It symbolizes the wishes of the people to be blessed with more riches in the coming year. Making the steamed flower buns, on the other hand, is an opportunity for the housewives to show off their skills. The buns in the shapes of different animals and flowers bring out the festive spirit during the reunion dinner.
Other than cleaning our living accommodation, shouldn’t we also clean our minds? Let us reflect on the mistakes that we have made and the bad habits that we have formed in the past year. Think about who we have fallen out with – give them a call or send them a simple text message. Whatever you have quarreled about, let it be water under the bridge. In the new year, as we are one year older, let us also be one year wiser. We ought to gain in maturity and be better able to handle things and events around us.
#TwentyFourthOfTwelfthLunarMonth, #ReplaceOldWithNew, #DustingAndCleaning
