On the morning of February 2, the 2024 Spring Festival Rural Cultural Tourism Festival in Laiwu District, Jinan City, the "Sugar Melon New Year" New Year's Folk Customs Activity was held in Chenlou Daji, Yangzhuang Town. Wang Suilian, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress, Zhao Yiding, secretary of the party group and vice chairman of the Provincial Writers Association, Wang Chunguang, deputy director of the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress, and first-class inspector, Sun Shihui, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee and director of the Municipal Civilization Office, and Li Yingtao, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee, attended the event.
At the ceremony, the participants jointly performed the drum performance "Long Spoon War Drum", the Laiwu Cultural Tourism promotional film "Laiwu Tour", the excerpt of Laiwu Bangzi's "Mulan", and the celebration of the New Year "Lai" talked about the happy year. After the ceremony, everyone visited the intangible cultural heritage exhibition area and the special agricultural products exhibition area.
The "Sugar Melon New Year" folk customs activity in Laiwu District, Jinan City is an important part of the Spring Festival Rural Cultural Tourism Festival in Laiwu District. Since the launch of the 2024 Spring Festival Rural Cultural Tourism Festival in the province, Laiwu District has linked up and taken the initiative to successively hold the district's rural cultural tourism festival, the "Winter Village Evening" and the series of activities of the winter and spring cultural benefit season, the online lecture of "Laiwu Talks about the Happy Year", and the theme activities such as "New Year's Gathering and Intangible Cultural Heritage" in Yangzhuang Town.
Up to now, the district has carried out nearly 100 activities such as "Winter Village Evening" and "Small Drama Performance", released 3 winter and spring tourism routes, and issued 50,000 yuan of Huimin consumption vouchers. The rural cultural tourism festival has brought hot fireworks and strong New Year's flavor to the people, catching up with the Yellow River gathering, tasting special food, watching intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, and appreciating folk activities, which are warm and lively everywhere, attracting Laiwu villagers to return to Laiwu for the New Year.
On the day of the event, it was also a big gathering of Chen Lou, and the people who came to catch up with the market were in an endless stream, and the prosperity of production and sales added to the flavor of the year.
An intangible cultural heritage exhibition area was specially set up on the spot, and craftsmen set up stalls on the spot, bringing many intangible cultural heritage folk items such as Chenlou sugar melon and Gaojiadian hemp rope. While experiencing intangible cultural heritage skills, the public also selected traditional New Year's gifts, and the strong Spring Festival atmosphere and intangible cultural heritage charm made the scene more lively. The liveliness of this year's bazaar is different from usual, and the integration of intangible cultural heritage elements makes people look forward to the arrival of the New Year and hope that life will be better in the new year.
Link: Laiwu Chenlou sugar melon, which began in the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, has a production history of more than 100 years. Sugar melon is made by mixing yellow rice and barley malt in a certain proportion. This kind of starch candy is processed into many varieties of flowers and colors by "Qiaoren Painting Spring", the shape is called sugar melon, and there is a thin layer of sesame seeds stuck on the surface, and it is sticky and sweet in the mouth, and the aroma is overflowing. In the past, every year on the twenty-third night of the lunar month, every household bought a few sugar melons to quit the stove (stove prince), intending to use sugar melons to stick to the mouth of the "stove prince", telling him to "say good things in the heavens, and keep peace in the lower world". The long history of sacrificial stoves and the unique charm of regional culture have created the brand of Laiwu Chenlou, so that the traditional skills have been passed down to this day.
Chenlou sugar melon is made in a traditional way, and the maltose contained in it has the effect of relieving cough and reducing phlegm. After the sugar melon is cooked, it is cooled, and a thin layer of sesame seeds is glued to the surface, which is crushed when chewed in the mouth, and it is not greasy to chew for a long time, and the longer the chewing time, the more fragrant it is. The sweet and round sugar melon is not only a symbol of sweet life and family reunion, but also a beautiful prayer for the common people to pray for smooth weather in the coming year, a bumper harvest of grains, a peaceful life and contentment, and the peace and security of the country and the people. In 2009, "Chenlou Sugar Melon" was successfully declared as "Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage". (Propaganda Department of Laiwu District Committee).
*: Jinan Propaganda Author: Lai Xuan