The flavor of the old days

The years are fleeting, time flies like an arrow, and time slips by your fingertips year after year. The age grows year by year, and the mood matures day by day. I no longer have the carefreeness and innocence of my youth; I no longer have the expectation and joy of the New Year. But the warm flavor of the old days is becoming more and more clear and honest in my memory. Across the river of years, it rushes towards my face, warming the time and heart.

Inscriptions one by one

Celebrating the Little New Year

In the depths of the old days, celebrating the Little New Year was my favorite festival, and it was also a very lively festival. Although it is not as grand as the New Year, it still has its unique flavor.

The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is the traditional Little New Year, which is also called "Sacrifice to the Stove" here. On the New Year's Eve, people bake the stove, the steamed buns are round and round, and the whole family is happy. On this day, everyone here will bake "Huozao Mo" that night. Huozhao steamed buns are easy to make, but they don’t taste good if they’re not made well. First, put the fermented dough into the alkali and knead it repeatedly. After kneading, pull the dough into small doughs, then knead the small doughs smoothly and make a small vortex in the middle. Then add chopped green onion, coriander, salt, Put some sugar mixed with oil into the small vortex, then seal it, and use a rolling pin to roll the small dough into small cakes. Finally, place the biscuits on a frying pan with just the right heat to cook. After being cooked, the Huozhao buns will be browned on both sides and soft in the middle. The smell will linger in your nose, and it will be even more crispy and delicious when eaten, leaving a fragrant aroma on your lips and teeth.

The Fire Stove Steamed Bun is delicious, but there is another rule for eating Fire Stove Steamed Bun. That is, on the day of the Chinese New Year, if a family member does not come home, the family cannot bake it on that day. Huozhao steamed buns, it is said that people are "burned" outside when they are fried. At that time, I didn’t understand very much, how could someone be burned outside by cooking a steamed bun? Later, when I grew up, I realized that it was because kind-hearted people did not want to enjoy the delicious food of Huozhao steamed buns alone at home when a family member was away. Huozao steamed buns are no longer considered a delicacy to people today. But for people in the 1980s, Huozao Mo was already a delicacy that was not often eaten. In normal times, very few people have the luxury of eating hot-roasted steamed buns. Only when the family is reunited during the Lunar New Year, they will happily bake round hot-roasted steamed buns to taste the taste of the New Year and the taste of happiness together.

On the New Year's Eve, you will meet your godmother, hold a rooster, and get some candies. Your godmother will buy you a flowery dress, and you will be happy for a long time. This is another special impression I have of celebrating the New Year, and it remains fresh in my memory. In our area, the Lunar New Year is the day to recognize the godmother. Any child who wants to recognize the godmother will choose this day to hug a big red rooster, buy a large piece of stove candy, and then Take some other odds and ends, find someone to accompany you, and then the child's father will lead you to the family of the person who wants to recognize your godmother. The godmother will buy a flowery dress and give it to your godson or goddaughter. After recognizing the godmother, the two families became relatives. After that, you have to go to your natal family for two consecutive years on the day of the Little New Year, and then you can go to your natal family to visit relatives every year after the New Year.

At first, I didn’t know about recognizing my godmother. I always heard someone setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day, so I would yell at my dad to set off firecrackers. Dad said that when people set off firecrackers, they recognize their godmother! No one comes to your mother to claim her as her godmother, so we can't set off firecrackers. At that time, I curiously asked my mother: "Mom, why do children want to recognize their godmother?"

My mother said: "Because some children like to get sick. I heard that they need to find a family with the surname Liu or Feng." If someone chooses a godmother, the child will be easy to raise."

I blinked and asked, "Why do you have to find someone named Liu or Feng?"

My mother laughed. Liao Xiao said: ""Liu" means "to keep"; "Feng" means "to sew". It means to help keep the child, sew the child, and eliminate disasters for the child."

I heard at that time I still didn’t quite understand it, but later when I grew up, I realized that it might be a manifestation of people’s love for their children, a beautiful wish that they place in their godmother for the sake of their children growing up safely.

At that time, my two younger sisters and I were both in good health, so naturally we didn’t need to recognize our godmother. But one year, my youngest brother showed signs of being weak and prone to getting sick. My father and mother were worried about what they could eat, and in the end they had no choice but to listen to others' advice and ask for a godmother for their younger brother. So in the New Year that year, our family was somewhat different from previous years. In addition to my mother making delicious stove-topped glutinous rice cakes, my dad also bought a big stove-top candy, which we also called "sugar melon seeds."

When we children saw the stove candy that our father bought, we all came over curiously. I have heard about Zao Tang before, but I have never tasted it. My friends said that Zao Tang is delicious and very sweet. Now I see such a large piece of stove candy in front of me, hehe, I really want to take a bite. But my father said that the stove candy was for my younger brother to take to identify his godmother. As soon as the younger brother heard that he would be taken to recognize his godmother, he immediately said with a tearful voice: "I won't go, I don't recognize my godmother."

My mother hugged my younger brother and said, "Don't cry, I will accept my godmother." Mom, my mother is still as loving and affectionate. My godmother will buy you sweets and colorful clothes." After hearing this, my brother stopped making trouble.

I was a little worried and asked my mother: "My brother has accepted his godmother, will he come back?"

My mother hugged my brother and said: "I have accepted my godmother, but my brother will still come back." "Yes." I felt relieved after hearing this.

In the evening, my father found an uncle to accompany him and his younger brother to find their godmother. My two sisters and I were playing while waiting for our father and brother to come back. But it's very late, dad, and my brother haven't come back yet. My mother urged us to go to bed, but neither my two sisters nor I went to bed. I know that my sisters, like me, are worried about whether my brother will be kept by his godmother at her house?

Waiting and waiting, waiting and waiting, my sisters and I almost wanted to fight before we heard that our father was back. My sister and I hurried over to see, my brother had fallen asleep in my father's arms, and my sister and I smiled happily.

The next morning, my brother put on the colorful clothes bought by his godmother and jumped up and down happily. After breakfast, my mother took out a stove candy. I asked: "Isn't this stove candy given to my brother's godmother's family?"

My mother said: "Yes! But stove candy is usually delivered by my godmother (when I come back, the ones I bring back are delicious) "(brought back by me). Go and ask my sister to eat some candy."

As soon as I heard that I was going to eat some candies, my coke was broken, so I quickly called my sister and brother. Mom used a kitchen knife to cut off a few small pieces of the candy and gave it to us to eat, but she didn't eat it. We gave it to her, but she didn’t eat it because she said her teeth hurt from eating sweet food. We took it to dad, and dad said smoking! No time to eat. In fact, I know in my heart that my father and mother are reluctant to eat it.

My sister, brother and I ate the stove candy that year until the New Year. The sweetness lingered in our mouths all day long, and it has been sweet in our hearts until now. Now that I think about it, I still feel like I still have the taste of stove candy in my mouth, and I feel happy while thinking about it.

Second Celebration of the New Year

After celebrating the Little New Year, I look forward to the New Year. There will be lucky money and colorful clothes to wear in the New Year.

After the Little New Year, the adults started to get busy, going to the market to buy New Year's goods. It was said to be buying New Year's goods, but it was nothing more than buying some pork, some onions, fish, and some red _. Because other flour, vermicelli, sweet potatoes, and chicken are all available at home. After buying something, the first thing to do is to steam it. As soon as the Chinese New Year is over here, every family starts to be busy steaming the rice cakes. The aroma of the rice cakes will float around the village all day long, making people want to take a bite of the sweet sweet potato buns. Yes, the steamed glutinous rice we eat during the Chinese New Year is not the usual steamed glutinous rice. It is the steamed glutinous rice dumpling made with sweet potatoes that is essential during the Chinese New Year. It is as important as the essential dumplings during the Chinese New Year. Sweet potato buns are delicious, but steaming them is troublesome. First, wash the sweet potatoes, peel them, slice them into strips, and then cut them into peanut-sized sweet potato beans.

Then boil some red beans and mix them into the sweet potato beans. After preparing the sweet potato beans in this way, you can prepare the dough. After the dough ferments, you can make sweet potato buns. After the rice is wrapped, it is steamed in a basket. By the way, the temperature is low during the Chinese New Year, so every family will steam a lot of rice, so they are not afraid of spoilage. If it is not steamed enough, it would be a shame if relatives come over and don’t have sweet potato buns to eat.

I remember when my family was growing up, my father would not allow us to enter the kitchen or talk nonsense. At that time, there were six people in our family, and we steamed a lot of rice every year, from morning until dinner. Dad cooks the pot and mom makes sweet potato buns. When the first basket of fennel is steamed, Dad will take two fennel and put them into a bowl. He will stand in the yard and pay respect to God first. Then he will take two more fennel and put them into the bowl and go to the memorial tablets of grandpa and grandma in the hall to pay homage to grandpa and grandma. . After dad has finished paying respects to grandpa and grandma, we can eat the meal. At that time, I was very curious when I saw everything my father did. I always feel that God is watching me from the sky, and my grandpa and grandma are sitting in the house. Later, I went to play at my friends’ houses and found that the fathers of several friends did the same thing.

When I grew up, I realized that this was the rule of the rural people there. When there is delicious food during the holidays, God must be invited to eat it first, then the parents are invited to eat it, and finally the rest of the family can eat it. In their words, they are thanking God for the good weather and thanking their parents for their kindness. If there is delicious food, let them eat it first to show their gratitude. I think that is the belief of rural people, to be grateful for what they have with a grateful heart. Therefore, this custom has always been an indispensable rule for celebrating the New Year here.

After steaming the New Year's rice, it's time to fry the fried dough sticks and deep-fried fried fruits. At that time, my father didn’t know where he learned fried fruits. The fried fruits are sweet and delicious. Thinking about that delicious food, I still miss it!

After frying the fried dough sticks and fruits, it was almost the 27th or 8th day of the twelfth lunar month, and we started chopping the dumpling fillings. Because dumplings are indispensable during the Chinese New Year. If you don’t eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year, it won’t feel like the New Year.

New Year's Eve is here in a blink of an eye. On that day, people in the village will go to the fields to invite the souls of their deceased relatives home for the New Year. No one sees this soul, but people still leave it with respect. Firecrackers and paper money are used to invite the dead souls back home. When you get home, you should light a few candles on the table in the hall, put steamed flowers on it, and then cook some New Year's Eve dumplings and offer them to the memorial tablet of the deceased, so that the deceased can eat them first. After that, everyone in the family can sit down and eat reunion dumplings. People were eating New Year's Eve dumplings with emotion or happiness in the flickering candlelight.

Children are happiest after the New Year's Eve dinner, because this is the time to give out lucky money. On that day, dad and mom would give us some lucky money and let us put it in our pockets and wait until the next day to spend it. Although the New Year's money was very small, it made us excited. Because children at that time usually did not have pocket money. Adults are still short of money to do business, who usually has money to give pocket money to children. Therefore, lucky money was every child’s happiness and dream at that time.

On the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, my father and mother did not wake us up. Rules, but always followed. So on the morning of New Year's Day, as soon as we heard Dad setting off firecrackers, we would get up by ourselves. Often we eat dumplings on the first day of the new year by candlelight, before daybreak. I don’t know who made the rule that you have to have early meals on the first day of junior high school. At that time, firecrackers would often start to go off one after another before dawn, and the "cracking" was so lively that it made a silent village sparkle.

As soon as the day breaks, the roads in the village become lively. People walk from east to west and visit neighbors in the west. New Year greetings come and go, cordial greetings, happy conversations and laughter. The village in winter is filled with warmth. The flavor of the year is filled with joyful laughter.

After the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is time to visit relatives, which is another feature of the New Year. Normally people are busy, but during the Chinese New Year they take a break to visit friends and relatives, keep in touch and increase friendship. Visiting relatives is a busy job. Who doesn't have several relatives? Once the relatives are busy, they will be busy until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In short, the Chinese New Year is lively and busy, but people are busy happily and willingly. The new year represents the beginning of a new year and the beginning of a new life.

Three Lantern Festivals

As soon as the Lantern Festival comes, the village will become lively again, with red lanterns hung high in every house, competing to see whose ones are brighter and which ones are taller. .

Even the always dark fields will be lively for a while. Because the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the day to send the souls of the dead back to their graves. Each family will put up a lantern to send back the souls of their own family. I remember one year during the Chinese New Year, I saved the candy wrappers peeled off from eating candies. Those candy wrappers were colorful and very beautiful. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, I folded a lot of beautiful flowers with those sugar paper, and tied a lantern with sorghum poles. Then I wrapped the outside of the lantern with a transparent film, and then decorated the top of the lantern with the folded sugar paper. and around the lower end, such a beautiful lantern is ready. That day I made two lanterns at once, one for my deceased grandpa and one for my deceased grandma. I think they would be happy if they had spirits in heaven.

On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people not only send lights to the souls of the dead, but also send lights to puddles, rivers and bridges in the village. A lamp should be given at the entrance of every house, gate, and well, saying that they have worked hard for a year, so that the gods can also look at the lamp. In short, everyone does it. So that day, there were twinkling lights in and around the village, which was very spectacular and beautiful.

Most of the lanterns delivered at that time were home-made radish lanterns. It is to cut a large radish into sections, and then dig out part of the radish meat inside the radish cut to form a radish kiln, but the bottom cannot be dug thoroughly. If it is dug thoroughly, it will be difficult to put oil. After digging, find a small piece of sorghum pole skin, wrap cotton wool around it, and then tie it into the dug radish kiln to become a wick. Then put in lard oil, lard oil is actually made from pig fat. It will solidify after cooling. Dig some and put it in the radish kiln. Then put oil on the wick and light the wick with a match. A small The carrot lantern is ready. Carrot lamps are easy to put out, flame-resistant and have a large fire head. Not easily blown out by the wind. So people like to make carrot lanterns to send lanterns to light up the village at night.

After delivering the lanterns, some organized people in the village began to dance dragons and play lions. Some of them were playing drums, and some were beating gongs and drums, which was very lively. The dragon dancers danced enthusiastically, and a prop dragon made their dance come alive. There was also the one who played with the lion, who also played hard. Jumping up and down, swooping left and right, winning bursts of cheers from the villagers.

Among the dragon and lion dances, there is also a big head wearing a mask, which looks very cute. There is also the lively scene of Zhu Bajie carrying his wife on his back, pushing a cart, lifting a sedan chair, and walking on stilts. Indescribable. The dragon dance and the lion were walking and playing, and people followed their team walking in the village. When you meet someone who wants to suppress the calamity child (we say that the lion player jumps up and down on the calamity child to drive away evil spirits and suppress the calamity child). Just go to someone's house and dance for a while. Then he came out and walked again, beating gongs and drums, dancing and dancing, making people excited and laughing. In this way, it can be lively until about twelve o'clock, when people gradually disperse, and the dragon and lion dances end. At this time, the night in the countryside gradually became calm, with only the red lanterns in each house guarding the night and emitting light.

The next day, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, people will say when they meet that they have gone far away again this year. Indeed, after the fifteenth day, people start to be busy with work and no longer covet the smell of the New Year. They know that the year is far away and the days are still long. They still need pairs of hard-working hands to work hard for life and work hard for the next year.

Postscript: Nowadays, life has improved and the flavor of the New Year has faded. Even some New Year rules passed down from the older generation have been forgotten by some people. People often say that there is nothing to celebrate in the current Chinese New Year and it is boring. There are many reasons for this. I think one of them should be that the times have developed and people's living standards have improved. The New Year is no longer something that people have worked hard to look forward to, but something that people can go to comfortably and eat during the New Year. , you can usually eat it if you want to. Therefore, the flavor of the New Year is lighter. In addition, most people nowadays like freedom and do not want to be bound, even if they are mentally bound, they are not willing to endure some mental constraints. Some of the beliefs during the New Year have been forgotten from memory, and the flavor of the New Year has become lighter