During the Spring Festival, all the childrenbeautiful clothes. (wear)

During the Spring Festival, all the childrenbeautiful clothes. (dress)

me about an hour the information I needed on the Internet. (take)

about an hour the information I needed on the Internet. (spend)

My friends call on meto Shandong. (whenever) 

they come to Shandong, my friends call on me. (no matter)

, he lost interest in music. (as)

, he lost interest in music. (with)

Little New Year, usually a week before the lunar New Year, falls on Feb this year. It is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity(神) who oversees the moral character of each household. Here are five things you should know about the Little New Year, another sign of the start of spring.

⒈ Offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God

One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, who will report on the family's conduct over the past year. The offerings to the Kitchen God include pig's head, fish, sweet bean paste, melons, fruit, boiled dumplings, barley sugar, and Guandong candy. Most of the offerings are sweets of various varieties. It is thought that this will seal the Kitchen God's mouth and encourage him to only say good things about the family when he ascends to heaven to make his report.

⒉ House cleaning

According to Chinese folk beliefs, during the last month of the year ghosts and deities must choose either to return to Heaven or to stay on Earth. It is believed that in order to ensure the ghosts and deities' timely departure people must thoroughly clean both their persons and their houses, down to every last drawer and cupboard.

⒊ Paste paper-cuts to windows

On the Little New Year, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year's posters, and auspicious(吉利的) decorations are pasted up.

⒋ Bath and hair-cut

As the old Chinese saying goes, whether they're rich or poor, people often have a haircut before the Spring Festival. The activity of taking bath and haircut is often done on the Little New Year.

⒌ Preparations for the Spring Festival

People start to stock up necessary provisions for the Spring Festival since the Little New Year. Everything needed to make offerings to the ancestors, entertain guests, and feed the family over the long holiday must be purchased in advance.

If one thing on your wish-list is a stress-free holiday, then here are some shopping tips prepared for you, which will save both your time and money.

Don't be tough on your brains.  Don't be afraid to look for clues and ask for ideas. First, see whether the folks on your to-buy-for list have already dropped some valuable hints of their dreamed items. If you strike out, encourage your lucky recipients to post items they wish someone would buy for them. You can also find inspiration in the many online gift guides.  — Gifts for Dads, Gifts for Golfers and such. Then you'll get the idea.

 You really can enlist your own personal helpers. Don't feel guilty about that—after all, Santa employs helpers too. Many stores have free professional shoppers who can pick out presents for you. We're not talking just high-end stores such as Blooming-dale's and Nordstrom. They're all hungry to win your business away from online retailers. But you'll likely need an appointment, so call ahead or search stores' websites for "personal shopping". You'll typically find a link on the home page under Contact Us or Services.

Have gifts delivered. Time is money, and for not a lot of money you can save a lot of time by having your gifts delivered right to your door. Some mom-and-pop shops offer delivery service while chain stores tend to charge for that, but it still might be worth paying for the convenience. First go to postmates. com or download the free app and see whether it's available in your area. Then type the name of a store into the search bar, click on the store, and enter the item you want.

A. Make an appointment ahead.

B. Can't figure out what to buy?

C. Do you wish for a stress-free holiday?

D. Get someone else to do shopping for you.

E. They are typically organized by recipient, interest, and/or price range.

F. Others like Macy's and J. Crew will also let you leave the shopping to them.

G. For local stores that don't offer this convenience, try the Post-mates delivery service.