I often hear people say that the New Year's Eve has become less interesting and not as interesting as when I was a child: the fragrant New Year's Eve dinner, the intermittent sound of firecrackers, Spring Festival couplets, and the family gathering around the table to eat New Year's Eve dinner and watch the New Year's Eve. Receive red envelopes for New Year greetings.
The Chinese New Year is really a happy one in my memory: steamed buns and fried tofu, stewed meat slices in a big pot and fried peanuts, wrote couplets, pasted couplets and hung lanterns, wore new clothes, eaten as much as I wanted, fried peanuts with melon seeds and sugar, and received lucky money. , eating dumplings and setting off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve and the morning of New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Day, friends, neighbors, and folks gather in groups to kowtow to the New Year...everywhere is full of joy and vitality.
For children, the Spring Festival is the most anticipated festival of the year. Buy New Year's goods, post Spring Festival couplets, wear new clothes, send red envelopes, watch the Spring Festival Gala, set off firecrackers, buy gifts, watch social fires, watch lanterns, celebrate the New Year in a prosperous way.
As a child born in the 1970s, I spent my childhood study and life in the coal town of Yima in western Henan in the 1980s. , like pearls dotting this piece of yellow land. On the railway in the mining area, steam trains emitting black smoke run every day, pulling trains of trains packed like hills to all directions of the motherland. Meicheng is located in the west of Henan, on the ancient Xiaohan Road, with Shaofeng in the north and Luoyi in the south. It borders the ancient capital Luoyang to the east and the historical city Xi'an to the west. The Longhai Railway runs from east to west, passing through the south side of the train station street. Steam engine trains blowing out deafening black smoke are approaching at high speed like behemoths. Yima Mining Bureau is one of the top 500 large state-owned enterprises in the country, and its corporate efficiency ranked 226th in the country at that time. The school where my father teaches belongs to Yuejin Mine, near the train station. A mining area road runs from east to west through the four mining areas of Changcun, Yuejin, North Open-pit, and Qianqiu (the North Open-pit Mine is an open-pit mine, and the mining area has the most coal trains, spraying streams of snow-white water vapor as they rumble through the mining area. ), connected to the Bureau of Mines at the east site. The street in front of the train station to the Mining Bureau at the east construction site was the most prosperous and lively place in Yima at that time. When I was a child, the Spring Festival in Coal City had a unique flavor and was a beautiful scenery.
Entering the twelfth lunar month, the year of Laba is getting closer and closer to us. A song circulated in the north sings the flavor of the year:
Twenty-three, Worship the community god, twenty-four, clean the house;
Twenty-five, grind tofu; twenty-six, buy meat;
Twenty-seven, catch a chicken, twenty Eight, make the dough;
Twenty-nine, steam the buns, and stay up all night at thirty;
Dumplings are made every year on New Year’s Eve, and a bunch of New Year greetings are given.
On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, children in Coal City went on winter vacation. The streets and alleys of the mining area welcomed laughter. Groups of children whistled and carried schoolbags, talking and laughing all the way. Go home. Go to "catch up" with your parents, buy New Year's goods, and celebrate the New Year happily. "Shanghai" stalls are lined up on both sides of the street, with a dazzling array of food, clothing, entertainment, and daily necessities, as far as the eye can see. Crowds of people buying new year's goods, with their children and their children, arrived one after another. The parents were joking and laughing as they carefully selected a variety of New Year's goods: candies, dried fruits, pastries, meats, vegetables... There was a cake called "Tangjiaoer" that was very tempting: it was made of flour into a curved moon shape. , the surface is covered with shiny white sugar, which comes in various colors of white, yellow and brown. When you take a bite, there is a bag of sticky sugar liquid inside. You will feel like eating honey, sweet New Year flavor.
Cleaning the house on the 24th, my parents started cleaning early in the morning, and we also joined in the enthusiasm of cleaning, sweating profusely. The rubbish has been cleared away, and I feel warm looking at the clean and bright house. Twenty-five, get out of the frying pan. My father stacked several layers of bricks in the house, set up a frying pan, burned the firewood vigorously, and fried pot after pot of tofu, chicken nuggets, sugar cakes, meatballs and vegetarian meatballs. The table was full Plate after plate. Twenty-six, make jelly. Twenty-eight, hair. Twenty-nine, steamed buns. The whole family was busy early in the morning. My father kneaded the dough, and my mother and sister plated stuffings. There were vegetarian stuffings, meat stuffings, sweet potato stuffings, and red bean stuffings. Then I started wrapping, and I also wrapped a "little mouse". Put on the basket, light the fire, and steam many pots of steamed buns and steamed buns. The tables, cabinets, and boxes are all covered with them, and the layers are stacked like a mountain.
Feng Jicai once wrote: Every nation in the world has its own objects of worship, but what the Chinese worship is life itself. The "taste of the New Year" is not just material abundance, but cultural abundance.
The taste of the New Year is about vision, smell, taste, hearing, touch, blessings and hopes.
My father wrote Spring Festival couplets and banners with a splash of ink. The table is filled with "spring blooms in the garden", "five blessings come to the door", "a bumper harvest", "going out to see happiness", "lucky stars are shining high", "a bumper harvest", "enough food and clothing", "safe travel" and "prosperous livestock" ""Gong Xi Fa Cai"... The doors, tables, cabinets, noodle tanks, water tanks, gates, yards, and chicken coops all turned into red seals. They were fiery red and full of festive flavor. We were happy. The ground looked and smiled. With one stroke, my father wrote the couplet "Drinking water, remembering the source, never forgetting the reform and opening up, welcoming the spring and pursuing dreams, but you still have to work hard." My brother and I carefully posted it, and my sister promptly brought the horizontal scroll of "Everything is updated" on the lintel. For a while, firecrackers went off, one after another, resounding throughout the mining area.
Dumplings are made every year on New Year’s Eve. The whole family happily made dumplings: my father rolled out the dough, my mother plated the stuffing, and my brother and sister made the dumplings. I couldn’t help but join in and made a few." Four different images." The table was full, and the dumplings that couldn't be placed were placed on the lid of the box. The fragrant and steaming dumplings came out of the pot, and the family sat together, eating a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner and watching the wonderful "Spring Festival Gala" program. The warm house was filled with joy, laughter and happiness. "Crack, crackle, crackle!...In the quiet mining area, the sound of firecrackers comes one after another, resounding at twelve o'clock in the evening on New Year's Eve, the most flavorful time of the year.
"Dong, dong, dong," the ear-splitting sound We woke up and it turned out that our father was setting off the firecrackers. We got up quickly and set off firecrackers to welcome the New Year. The children followed the sound of firecrackers from the neighbor's house and picked up the small cannons on the ground that had not exploded. While having fun, one house started ringing and another started ringing, one after another, and the children were sweating profusely. The sound of firecrackers rang throughout the coal town. On the first day of the first lunar month, people came to pay New Year greetings. They ate candies and dried fruits as they wanted, and gave out lucky money before leaving. Wear new clothes, set off firecrackers, buy gifts, watch movies, go shopping in the city, receive red envelopes, and celebrate the New Year happily!
The flavor of the New Year is on everyone’s face, and their brows are relaxed. , with bright smiles and mouthfuls of blessings, making the flavor of the New Year even stronger
Yima Mining Bureau and its various mining areas (Xin'an Mine in Luoyang in the east, Changcun, Yima in the middle) Yuejin, North Open-pit and Qianqiu mines, and Gengcun, Yangcun, Caoyao, Shihao and Guanyintang mines in Sanmenxia in the west). In order to enrich the spiritual life of the people, a variety of cultural and artistic activities were carried out during the Spring Festival: lantern exhibitions , social fire, fireworks, acrobatics, dragon dance, lion dance, riddle guessing, stilt walking... Coal miners have power: go down to dig coal, go up to the well to perform lion and dragon dances, tie lanterns, walk on stilts, set off fireworks, all coal miners What a hero! From the beginning of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Coal City is full of gongs and drums, firecrackers are blasting, and the streets and lanes are full of joy. We live in the old campus every day. During the Spring Festival, my father would take my whole family on his back to see the lantern display at the Mining Bureau of the East Construction Site. The zodiac, Wukong and Bajie, trains and cars... are all dazzling to see. Among them, a "boy's lotus lantern" opens and closes, which is the most eye-catching. A naked little boy stands on the lotus platform, and the lotus is in bloom. He peed out a splash of water with a "squeak" sound, splashing people's faces, causing everyone to laugh and dodge.
There are light shows and social fires in various mining areas, and in urban areas and mines. The gate of the mining area was decorated with lights and colorful Spring Festival couplets. As soon as you entered the gate, a clown with a colorful face and a mustache sitting on a long log came towards you. It’s very funny. The school’s military drum team also performed here. The students wore uniforms and performed very impressively. good! "There were bursts of cheers from the west, and when I got closer, I saw that there was a lion dance. Large square tables were stacked one on top of another, getting higher and higher. The lions jumped happily on the square tables, following the people holding the hydrangea. Climbing higher and higher, the people in the audience stared at each other, and the acrobatic performance in front of the club caused a lot of screams. An iron pole stood in the square, higher than the government building. The rope was pulled to the ground. I saw an acrobatic performer climbing up the iron pole, standing on the top of the thick bowl and spinning his feet. The person on the top of the iron pole held on to the rope with a "swish" sound. Rushing to the ground quickly, causing everyone to scream...
The colorful fireworks went up, and the entire Coal City was immersed in the sound of festive fireworks, and the fireworks show kicked off
These fireworks are blooming from bottom to top one after another. They are like beautiful meteor showers and are gradually falling to the ground. The roof opposite the Yima Mining Bureau office has been spraying all around, like a pot of golden chrysanthemums. Sending happiness to people. The "Golden Chrysanthemum" slowly shrank, and finally the accompanying music disappeared into the night sky. Suddenly, a scream pierced the sky, exploding in the sky dozens of meters high, and many colorful "light rains" appeared. "Dots" fell from the sky, like fairies scattering flowers, illuminating the night like day.
Just a loud noise was heard, the fireworks shot into the sky, and beautiful sparks exploded in the sky. , small "parachutes" fell down from the same place, colorful and extremely beautiful. Only a few dull sounds were heard, and the fireworks shot up into the sky with red sparks. With a few crisp sounds, the night sky bloomed. Beautiful flowers appeared. They were of different shapes and colors, including colorful gypsophila and golden dandelions, some blooming like chrysanthemums; some floating like colorful strips, many and many, colorfully decorating the night sky. Extraordinarily beautiful... What's even more amazing is that strings of beautiful pearl necklaces appeared in the sky. I really wanted to take a string and put it on my neck.
< p> The "Meteor Shower" is here, and the sky is really beautiful. The "Meteor Shower" is like a waterfall in the Milky Way, falling from the sky in overwhelming numbers; the "Smiling Face" also shows us its shy face; the flashing "Heart", I was intoxicated by the sight, and I tightened my father's hand with excitement. Tonight, the sky in Coal City was decorated with fireworks.Fireworks make the night extraordinarily dazzling. This is really "the sky is full of fireworks, and the fireworks are flying to welcome the New Year." On a lively night, the fireworks lit up the smiling faces of the onlookers. I secretly pray that in the new semester, my studies will be like bright fireworks, soaring into the sky, blooming with the most gorgeous flowers, and emitting the most dazzling light
I heard the jubilant gongs and drums beating. , the lively trumpet started playing, and I ran out again to follow the crowd to watch the Yangko. In the yangko troupe, there are those who walk on stilts and another who run land boats. During the land boat race, some people pretended to be "riding donkeys". One person in costume stood in the "donkey" props, and another person raised a whip and chased people all over the street, which attracted bursts of laughter. The prop is a beautiful boat. A "beautiful lady" stands in the boat, and her partner dressed as an "old boatman" outside the boat laughs, curses, and spins around, making people laugh.
"Walking on stilts" is equally exciting, with a team of usually ten or twenty people. Men and women stood on stilts more than one meter high and marched all the way to the mining area square. We children looked up in fascination, wondering how they could walk so steadily on such high stilts. We were really worried about how they would get up if they accidentally fell down. Wearing colorful costumes. The faces are all covered with makeup: red face, white face, black face, and painted face. The true face of Lushan cannot be seen. The women wear wigs with all kinds of beads and hairpins, and the men wear scholar-like hats. They all look like young ladies in ancient times, elegant and suave, making others envious. Along with the trumpet, hand-cranked fans, danced gracefully, and twisted happily. "Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong."
People who have worked hard for a year enjoy themselves happily, singing and dancing to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year with joy and laughter. "Spring Festival" - our Chinese carnival.
A large number of excellent and exciting programs have attracted the attention of the people in Coal City and nearby villages and towns, and greatly enriched the spiritual and cultural life of the people.
It’s not that the spirit of the New Year is getting weaker now, but that our lives are becoming more and more prosperous and our materials are becoming more and more abundant. I understand the taste of my childhood and the privations and hardships behind the New Year’s Eve dinner. It is precisely because of scarcity that more than a billion Chinese people have the same memories of the New Year, all of which are inseparable from food and clothing.
Childhood memories are "the softest memories in a person's life", and everyone's memories of "childhood and New Year" are always the most profound.
The taste of childhood is always endlessly evocative...
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