Day 7, Bread-steaming Day (Feb. 7, 2024)

The Bread-steaming Day is on the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, three days before Spring Festival. This year, it falls on Feb. 7. Steamed bread was a must-have on this day in the past, serving as both a staple food and an offering for deities and ancestors. 

In northern China, families usually make a large batch of steamed buns, freeze most of them, and eat the rest during Spring Festival when meeting with friends and family. The small dough balls on the steamer grow bigger and rounder, symbolizing wealth and auspiciousness. At the same time, the steam curling up in the pot also represents the auspicious meaning of "flourishing day by day."

Day 6, Clothes-washing Day (Feb. 6, 2024)

The Clothes-washing Day is on the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, four days before Spring Festival. This year, it falls on Feb. 6. People usually wash clothes, bedsheets, curtains and the like on this day. These activities symbolize washing away all the bad luck of the past year and welcoming in happiness and good luck for the coming year.

Day 5, Meat-preparing Day (Feb. 5, 2024)

The Meat-preparing Day is on the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, five days before Spring Festival. From this day, dishes for the sumptuous New Year's Eve feast are prepared in succession. 

In the past when food was scarce, poor families could only eat meat during Spring Festival. This evolved into a custom of either slaughtering livestock raised the past year, or buying meat at a street market or supermarket on the day. In 2024, the Meat-preparing Day falls on Feb. 5.