"In the sound of firecrackers, the spring breeze sends warmth into Tusu. Thousands of households always replace the new peach with the old one. "The most familiar Spring Festival poem is Wang Anshi's "Yuan Ri" in the Song Dynasty. The Spring Festival customs described in the poem, such as setting off firecrackers, drinking Tusu wine, and changing new peach charms, are very full of life and fully demonstrate the festive atmosphere of the New Year in the Song Dynasty. Reading it eloquently, I seem to see the lively scene of the New Year in my childhood.
I remember when I was a child, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, as soon as it was dawn, my mother woke up my brother and me, and asked us to go and set off the "open door cannon" with my father, which means that the door is open, and the old is good and the new is welcomed. By the time we were done, Grandma had already cooked the dumplings. My brother and I served a bowl and sat by the fire and chewed the dumplings "carefully", for fear that we would not be able to find the coins that my grandmother had wrapped in the dumplings in advance. The comical scene of chewing dumplings carefully often makes the family laugh.
After breakfast, it's time to greet the elders. Su Ling's "New Year's Greetings" in the Song Dynasty wrote: "There are many cars and horses, and I don't worry about it every year." Worship the old man on the mountain, and all the children will be the door. In the Spring Festival more than 1,000 years ago, Su Lu went to the mountain to pay New Year's greetings to the old man with respect. What a heartwarming picture!
After eating dumplings, my grandparents have changed into new clothes, and they are sitting on two large rattan chairs in the living room with a smile on their faces, holding red envelopes in their hands. My brother and I knelt respectfully in front of our grandparents and said, "I wish my grandparents a happy new year, good health, and a long life!" After the New Year's greeting, our grandparents would give us red envelopes, and then touch our heads and say, "Peace and well!" "Although my grandfather has been dead for many years, every Chinese New Year, I always think of this old man who speaks Handan dialect and loves me very much.
During the Chinese New Year, food is indispensable. Zhao Changqing of the Song Dynasty wrote in the "Spring Exploration Order": "The sheng song is a staggered feast. Happy New Year. The dish is slender and the hands are green and thin. And the gas enters, and the east wind. Banner Sheng'er is all aunts. Wear it even more playfully. May after the New Year, Gilgilli. All the best. The lyricist described the lively picture of himself and his family reuniting to celebrate the New Year at the beginning of the new year, and vividly described the Spring Festival customs at that time. The "slender jade hand" in the word constantly conveys all kinds of famous fruits, vegetables, and spring dishes during the banquet, which makes people think of their own reunion dinner.
When I was a child, my grandmother and mother would cook a big table of food at noon on the first day of the new year. My brother and I stood outside the kitchen door early in the morning, sniffing the aroma and guessing what my grandmother was stir-frying. When it was time to start eating, we had to wait for the elders to move the chopsticks before we juniors could start to pick up the dishes, and my brother and I were already hungry for ourselves. At that time, the dishes on the table included braised fish, crispy chicken, steamed crispy pork, steamed meatballs, fermented bean curd pork, sausage, hawthorn cheese, etc. Grandpa knew that my brother and I liked to eat crispy chicken the most, and he would always give each of us a chicken leg and watch us finish with a loving face.
The Spring Festival is a time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and it is also an important time node to taste the various states of life. "Poor and urgent. Lose green sideburns and lose your face. When is the time to be free. I was still shocked, and I was one year old. I advise you not to sleep tonight. And full, pan boats. Everyone indulged in the feast. May the new year be better than the old one. "The life insights expressed in Yang Wugui's "Double Goose Chinese New Year's Eve" in the Song Dynasty are very real. On the occasion of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, the poet can't help but sigh that the situation in the world is like a white horse passing by, fleeting. And he has been busy for fame and fortune all these years, and he has not had a moment of leisure. Therefore, you must drink heartily tonight, and you must not get drunk and go home! This speaks to the hearts of many people in the world!
In the past, during the Chinese New Year, parents would often casually say: "Hey, I'm a year older again, and I have a few more gray hairs!" At that time, I couldn't understand what they meant. Now, as I approach my age, I have a deeper understanding of my parents' words. Rather than lamenting that the years are fleeting, it is better to enjoy every scenery of life with your heart. As long as we keep our original intention and look at the ups and downs of life with an open-minded and optimistic attitude, then the years will not defeat us. In the new year, may we all have our wishes, peace and joy.
*: China Youth Daily client.