The Chinese New Year is the most anticipated time of the year. As winter approaches, families are getting busy and getting ready for the new year. For children, the Chinese New Year is a festival full of joy and surprises.
I remember that at that time, we always started looking forward to the Chinese New Year long in advance. Whenever we see the calendar gradually approaching the date of the New Year, our hearts are full of excitement and anticipation.
We would count the days in front of the calendar and count how many days were left until the New Year. In that era when there were no smartphones, the Chinese New Year was our only expectation.
Before the Chinese New Year, every household has to be cleaned. The elders of the family would lead us to clean the room, wash the furniture, and give the home a new look. We were deeply impressed by the busy figures and laughter of the adults. And we are happy to participate in it and feel the atmosphere of the New Year.
In addition to cleaning, buying new clothes is also one of the things that must be done before the Chinese New Year. Whenever this happens, my parents would take us to the mall to pick out new clothes.
We're always excited and can't wait to try on one beautiful new dress after another. After buying new clothes, we will also look left and right in front of the mirror, admiring our new image.
On the morning of the Chinese New Year, we would wake up early, put on new clothes, and wait for our parents to wake up. We can't wait to get up, knowing that we can wake up with a hearty breakfast made by our parents.
Breakfast usually has traditional foods such as dumplings, noodle soup, steamed buns, etc. Each dish is made with the hearts of the parents, and it is full of the taste of home.
After breakfast, we will follow our parents to visit relatives and friends. Everywhere we went, we received red envelopes and blessings. At that time, the red envelopes were not very large, they were all pieces and two pieces, but they were extremely precious to us.
We will carefully put the red envelope under the pillow for fear of losing it. When we go home in the evening, we can't wait to open the red envelope, count the coins inside, and our hearts bloom with joy.
In addition to visiting relatives and friends, we also go to traditional activities such as temple fairs, watching community fires, and setting off firecrackers. At the temple fair, we can taste a variety of food and snacks and see a variety of performances.
On the fire, we can enjoy a variety of ancient costumes and feel the strong festive atmosphere. When night falls, we light firecrackers and listen to the crackling sound and sparks flying, which is really called "beauty".
These activities not only made us feel the joy and liveliness of the New Year, but also made us more deeply appreciate the breadth and profundity of Chinese culture.
Now, with the passage of time, the New Year of childhood has faded away. But those good memories remain in our hearts forever. Whenever the Chinese New Year comes, we are reminded of that carefree and joyful childhood. We will miss that simple and pure era, and miss the festival that we look forward to so much - the New Year of childhood.