Yang Jiancheng.
When I was a child, there was a saying in my hometown: "On the lamp, on the lamp, down the lamp." "Every year to the tenth day of the lunar month, every household has to hang lanterns and make balls. The turnip lamp is the children's favorite.
As soon as the beginning of spring passes, the adults get busy and prepare for the New Year. Among them, turnips are indispensable. The old Yang family in the village planted a field of radishes, and at this time, someone always went to his field to pull a few radishes. Lao Yang was also very happy, and smiled and chose a few big and round radishes for everyone. The mother took a kitchen knife and cut the radish into thick slices, which were the body of the radish lamp.
Our children gathered around our mother and watched her cut turnips. Her craftsmanship is so skillful, and the rounded slices cut out are thin, round, and very well-proportioned. One of the games we often play is to guess how long the slices of radish that our mother has cut will last. We guess and guess, it's always wrong. When the radish slices really broke in the middle, we found that there was already a thin slit in the middle.
When it was time to make the turnip lamp, a few of us children couldn't wait to wash our hands and gather around. The mother took out a large radish, put the cut round slices on it one by one, and then skewered them with a small bamboo skewer. We gathered around the brazier, cooking over the fire, while listening to my mother's story about her childhood. Occasionally, we would follow our mother's example by holding the turnip lamp in our hands and turning it gently. The turnip lamp glows faintly in the night, warming the whole winter.
On the night of the twenty-third day of the lunar month, every household has to hang a red lantern in their hall**, and then put a radish lamp in the yard. According to the rules of the village, children can run around with radish lamps on this night to have a festive and auspicious picture.
It's finally time for this day! I remember the moon was so round and bright that night. My brother led the way with a beautiful red lantern in front, and I followed closely behind with a homemade turnip lamp. On the road to the head of the village, the friends had already gathered together. Everyone took out their lanterns and turnip lamps and admired and competed with each other. Someone shouted: "Let's go 'step on the yard'!" "There was an immediate response from everyone. We swarmed to the open space at the west end of the village, where the village children played.
"Yard Walking" is one of our favorite games. Everyone came to the courtyard with all kinds of lanterns and turnip lanterns, and then dispersed. One person began shouting "one, two, three, four......The others ran around the yard. According to the rules, you can't step on the turnip lamp when running, otherwise you will lose; If you step on someone else's turnip lamp, it's bad luck; If in the end your turnip lamp is left in the yard and not stepped on, then you are a winner! So everyone is always careful when running, not only to prevent being stepped on, but also to prevent themselves from accidentally stepping on the turnip lamp. Sometimes while running, suddenly someone falls, and everyone stops together to watch the excitement; Or someone deliberately runs fast and shouts "Haha!" You're chasing me! It caused everyone to laugh ......The whole courtyard is filled with laughter and warm lights.
When everyone was tired of running and had had enough, everyone reluctantly went home with lanterns and turnip lanterns. Of course, before going home, you have to go to the village shop to buy a few candies or a few bags of melon seeds, which are considered trophies to take home for the adults to see.
After the tenth day of the first month of the first month of "putting on the lights and falling on the lights", the year is over. But that warm radish lamp has always been on our hearts......
Now, I have been working outside my hometown for many years. Every year when I go home for the Chinese New Year, I always think of my childhood: the family sitting around the brazier to bake the fire, listening to my mother's storytelling, and playing with my friends with homemade radish lamps......Although that time was simple and poor, it was the most unforgettable and warm memory of my life.