扫尘

i was browsing through the web to look for materials to blog about chinese new year customs.
http://chinesenewyear-tips.blogspot.com/
For full details go read it yourself. i'll just summary it with my lousy broken english....hehehehe
"jiak ba bo su jo"

扫尘
- known as clean dust (yes, direct translation, better than google la...they give the result of "so dust". wonder why it become "so dust"... )

扫尘就是年终大扫除. 在春节前扫尘，是我国人民素有的传统习惯。每逢春节来临，家家户户都要打扫环境，清洗各种器具，拆洗被褥窗帘，洒扫六闾庭院，掸拂尘垢蛛网，疏浚明渠暗沟。
It's tradition and custom for the people to clean up their houses on the new year's eve. Cleaning up the environment, wash the apparatus, bedding, curtain, distroy cobweb, clear the longkang longkang..

传说，古人认为人的身上都附有一个三尸神，他像影子一样，跟随着人的行踪，形影不离。三尸神是个喜欢阿谀奉承、爱搬弄是非的家伙，他经常在玉帝面前造谣生事，把人间描述得丑陋不堪。久而久之，在玉皇大帝的印象中，人间简直是个充满罪恶的肮脏世界。一次。三尸神密报，人间在诅咒天帝，想谋反天庭。玉皇大帝大怒，降旨迅速察明人间犯乱之事，凡怨忿诸神、亵读神灵的人家，将其罪行书于屋檐下。再让蜘蛛张网遮掩以作记号。玉皇太帝又命王灵官于除夕之夜下界，凡遇作有记号的人家，满门斩杀，一个不留。三尸神见此计即将得逞，乘隙飞下凡界，不管青红皂白，恶狠狠地在每户人家的屋檐墙角做上记号，好让王灵宫来个斩尽杀绝。正当三尸神在作恶时，灶君发觉了他的行踪，大惊失色，急忙找来各家灶王爷商量对策。于是，想出了一个好办法，于腊月二十三日送灶之日起，到除夕接灶前，每户人家必须把房屋打扫得干干净净，哪户不清洁，灶王爷就拒不进宅。大家遵照灶王爷升天前的嘱咐，清扫尘土，掸去蛛网，擦净门窗，把自家的宅院打扫得焕然一新。等到王灵官除夕奉旨下界查看时，发现家家户户窗明几净，灯火辉煌，人们团聚欢乐，人间美好无比。王灵官找不到表明劣迹的记号，心中十分奇怪，便赶回天上，将人间祥和安乐、祈求新年如意的情况禀告玉皇大帝。玉皇大帝听后大为震动，降旨拘押三尸神，下令掌嘴三百，永拘天牢。这次人间劫难多亏灶神搭救，才得幸免。为了感激灶王爷为人们除难消灾、赐福张祥，所以民间扫尘总在送灶后开始，直忙到大年夜。

ok..i'm lazy to translate this....basically:

There is a god called "三尸神" who told "玉皇" Jade Emperor that the people is cursing him. Jade emperor got angry and order to put a mark of spider web on the people house so that "王灵宫" can killed the bad people. "灶君" found out about this bad news and told "灶王爷". "灶王爷" told everyone that they need to clean their house else he wont go visit them. So the people obey and clean their house. By the time "王灵宫" come down to sport check....eh! all so clean.....so harmony and full of happiness. "玉皇" heard the truth and slap "三尸神" 300 times on the mouth and got arrested.
So the people live happily ever after.

每逢庚申那天，"三尸神" 便上天去向天帝陈说人的罪恶；但只要人们在这天晚上通宵不眠，便可避免，叫做"守庚申"。
Don't sleep at the night of new year's eve....that way, all your bad thing wont go up to the god!
remember o......don sleep ar~~~