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Guo Nian Hao

The concept of Nian-Passing is uniquely Chinese - The only time they prepare abundant food for themselves they have to remind themselves of the beast there to spoil their meals. The Chinese always keep things in what my Mexican friend would certainly call a "strange" perspective. To really enjoy the New Year, we have to first pacify our enemies, real or imagined, lest they pop up from out of nowhere to poop the party. New Year's Eve also counted as the end of the fiscal year, by which time one had to clear one's debt with creditors, another sobering reminder of the many a needy day in the past, and certainly another contributing factor to the somber outlook towards the festivities.

The Nian beast is sometimes called Da (Big) Nian. Indeed, there is a Xiao (Small) Nian to pacify too. The Small Nian is the God of the Stove. The God of Stove, according to folklore, goes up a week before the New Year to report to the King of Heaven the deeds of the family he's been with. So on this day, families prepare a sticky, cane-shaped, toffee-like sugar for him, to sweeten his lips - so that he would have nothing but sweet things to say.

Families never fail to pay this tribute lest the God of the Stove tells warts and all and make them lose face in front of the King of Heaven. More realistically, people bribe the God of the Stove to avoid the dreadful prospect of him being so angry that he would refuse to light a cooking fire for the family in the next year.