The old lady, a 75-year-old man, made ten jujube cakes with her own hands that day and resolutely decided not to let her daughter come to help. This old lady is none other than my mother. I had already advised her that she was too old to do it herself, just let me know in advance and I would come to help. But she always insisted on going her own way, but she quietly completed the work herself.
In our place, making date cakes is a special custom, especially in families with daughters. Every time her daughters get married, their mother will make jujube cakes for them and wait for them to take home with them during the Chinese New Year. The whole family sat around and tasted the sweet jujube cake, praying for a sweeter day and a better life.
I vividly remember that our family has had this tradition for as long as I can remember. Jujube cake, a must-have for the New Year, is part of our family. For families without daughters, jujube cakes become a delicacy at home, while for families with daughters, additional production is required.
However, as her mother gets older, she is already 75 years old this year. In order not to make her too tired, I discussed with her in advance and asked her to wait until the day before making jujube cake to give me **, and I would come to help. However, the old man secretly did the work himself.
One day, I felt that the time was almost up, and it was very close to the end of the year, so I called my mother ** and asked her when she was going to make jujube cake. However, she told me that she had finished making it the day before, and she was worried that I wouldn't be able to eat a hot meal when I arrived, so she only ate one bowl of noodles in a hurry. She made ten cakes, eight hedgehogs, and jujube flowers and jujube steamed buns, so many that I can't count them in detail.
The old lady's courage was truly astonishing, and she made not only ten cakes, but also many other foods, regardless of whether she would be too tired.
In our family, my sister and I are my mother's two daughters, and it stands to reason that she only needs to make four pieces of cake, so why make ten? That's what mothers are thinking. Just like the situation of my fourth uncle's family, he also has two daughters, and after they get married, they will come together to pay New Year's greetings, and their mother will give each of them a piece of cake, which is also a kind of mother's heart.
In addition, she also prepared two cakes for her granddaughter-in-law, who is from the provincial capital and is very unfamiliar with the production of this kind of date cake. Now the total number is eight, and the remaining two pieces are reserved for worship.
Every Chinese New Year, our family will put a table of sumptuous food, whether it is meat or pastries, and I can't accurately count the number of dishes on the table.
As for the hedgehog, you may ask what it is used for. The hedgehog symbolizes wealth, which is generally eaten by men and rarely by women. Although there are rumors that women eat beards, this is clearly nonsense. The hedgehog is called a symbol of wealth because it represents a man's ability to earn money to support his family.
Jujube steamed buns and jujube flowers are relatively simple, probably just to fill the stomach. Having children may be just a good expectation, but there is no scientific basis for it. However, this does not prevent people from looking forward to a better future.
Do you also have the custom of making jujube cakes? The parents' thoughts are always touching, although they are worried that their daughter will not eat well when she goes elsewhere, they are not afraid that they will be tired! Do you have a similar mother around you?