“二十三，糖瓜粘”。农历腊月二十三的今天，中国北方正式迎来“小年”，而南方地区则是明天。
‘Twenty three, tanggua sticky’. 23rd Dec of the Agricultural calendar is the Minor Spring Festival of northern China, while southern China is tomorrow.
老话“官三民四船五”说的就是这一现象。
There is an old saying ‘officials three, civilians four, boats five’, which is used to refer to this difference.
官家农历腊月二十三过小年，寻常百姓二十四，水上人家二十五。
Families with government ties celebrate the Minor Spring Festival on 23rd Dec of the Agricultural calendar, common civilians celebrate on 24th and people living near water celebrate on 25th.
因为受古代阶级制度的影响，所以官家和富人家会早过小年，凸显地位的特殊。
Due to the social hierarchy in ancient China, wealthy families and those with government ties celebrate the Minor Spring Festival earlier to emphasize their superior social class.
而发展到现在，因为中国北方有更长的时间是政治中心，形成了现在“北三南四”的状况。
Centuries have passed, northern China had political centers for a longer period of time, hence the situation now is ‘northern three, southern four’.
在这其中，又有几个特立独行的省份或地区，过小年的时间非常与众不同：
There are some provinces and regions with a drastically different date for the Minor Spring Festival.
1. 南京地区/海南/安徽北部——农历正月十五元宵节
Nanjing region/Hainan province/Northern Anhui province —— 15th Jan of the Agricultural calendar, same day as the Lantern Festival
2. 部分云贵川地区和北方回民聚居地 —— 除夕夜
Parts of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan provinces and colony of Muslims in Northern China —— Chinese New Year’s Eve
3. 山东部分地区 —— 农历六月初一
Parts of Shandong Province —— 1st Jun of the Agricultural calendar
4. 云南部分地区 —— 正月十六
Parts of Yunnan Province —— 16th Jan of the Agricultural calendar
Keywords:
腊月（làyuè）refers to December
北方（běifāng）northern region
南方（nánfāng）southern region
小年（xiǎonián）direct translation is Minor (Chinese New) Year. It is seen as a preparation for the official Spring Festival
官家（guānjiā）government official families
百姓（bǎixìng）hundred last names. It refers to common civilians
阶级制度（jiējízhìdù）hierarchy system
特立独行（tèlìdúxíng）have noteworthy behavior and be independent
与众不同（yǔzhòngbùtóng）different from others
正月（zhēngyuè）refers to January