In our legends, the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the heaven, descend to earth to inspect the world on this day, to see if every household lives an honest, frugal, and diligent life. As traditional value leads, people who work hard but live poorly should be sympathized and rewarded. To show the frugality and pray for the emperor's reward, traditionally people make bean curd, or Tofu, cheap food in China.

In northeast China, people make a decent amount of Nian Dou Bao, a kind of bun made of glutinous millet stuffed with red bean paste. Nian Dou Bao is also a staple food during the Spring Festival.

臘月二十五，玉皇大帝會(huì)親自下界，查察人間善惡疾苦，看各家各戶是否如灶王所奏的那樣勤勉節(jié)約，并定來年禍福。于是各家各戶就做豆腐、吃豆腐渣以表示清苦，瞞過玉皇的懲罰，并降福來年。

中國(guó)北方人在這天還會(huì)做很多粘豆包，這種豆沙餡的包子是春節(jié)期間的傳統(tǒng)食物。