Unlike the third day of the Lunar New Year, day four is considered to be auspicious, with several popular gods including the Kitchen God and The God of Fortune believed to return to the Earth from Heaven.
There will also be a large amount of food prepared today to be consumed for the evening meal, so I will probably be posting again later tonight.
Starting in the late afternoon, the Huang family will start to prepare a variety of fruits, alcohol, and three types of meat—fish, pork, and chicken—in addition to lighting incense. Families burn incense and light candles to welcome the gods.
Earlier this morning, I learnt it is the custom in some rural areas in northern China to light a stick on fire and throw it into a nearby natural source of water, in an attempt to avert any fire-related accidents in the year ahead.
Chinese New Year Food Customs 