My hometown is a small village on the west bank of Jiaolai River in the northeast of Gaomi. The village is not big, more than 300 people, all with the same surname, Kangxi years from Zhucheng Xiangzhou moved here. I was born in the early 1970s. At the age of 14, I left home to live in school. From town to county town, I went to Jinan to serve before college entrance examination. Time seems to flow, in a flash has left home for 30 years, but the beauty of childhood often lingers in my mind, especially the joy of the New Year seems to be in front of me, from sticking couplets to hanging lanterns, from asking genealogy to offering, from making dumplings to New Year's Eve dinner, from receiving the god of wealth to welcoming the New Year, from kneeling parents to worshipping elders, everything is so real and real.
As a child, I looked forward to the New Year. As the saying goes, a half-grown boy eats poor Lao Tzu. In that era when materials were very scarce, it would be good to fill his stomach. He usually couldn't eat fine noodles at all. The steamed buns he made were all white flour on the outside but corn flour on the inside. Only during the Spring Festival could he slightly improve his life. Years come and go in anticipation, come and go.
In the early morning of New Year's Eve, when it was just dawn, he was called up by his parents and began to clean the courtyard and tidy up the indoor hygiene. Father made flour paste, and my brother and I posted couplets. Rural customs, couplets posted, firecrackers set off, welcome ancestors, New Year's Eve and other etiquette, all by the family men to complete, to show that there is someone in the family to inherit. I remember that couplets were written door-to-door by the elders with the best calligraphy in the village, especially the couplets at the gate, which were the most conspicuous and stylish. The left was the top and the right was the bottom. The front of the door was pasted with a look up to see happiness or go out to see happiness. In addition, there are Fu paste, rung, door wealth and so on, the whole house door, window outside the top, even cattle pen pigsty should be pasted, although the length is different, width is different, but look at, red color, flashing joy, with prayer, overflowing blessing, so this dilapidated farmhouse in the red couplet reflection, quiet, auspicious, happy.
Very capable mother alone to undertake frying bowls, fried turnips, and bread buns and other tasks, silently, busy, not idle for a moment. After lunch, my father took me to ask for genealogy and put on offerings. Genealogy we call sons (sound), above fill in from the first generation ancestors to the current deceased ancestors of the family. There were cocks, fish (white scales), tofu, raw meat, or spinach with green teeth; sugar cubes, cakes, fruits, cakes, which were made by the mother herself, large and small, five on each side; whips, incense, candles, paper, etc. The whole process was solemn, solemn, and sacred. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the men of the clan began to gather together to pay homage to the graves of the deceased. The firecrackers brought by each family were set off, deafening, and deliberately creating a big noise to invite the ancestors home for the Spring Festival.
Back home, my mother immediately ordered me and my brother to use fried radish water scalding feet, said it can prevent and treat frostbite. Then wash your face and wash your hair, and change into new clothes and shoes that are specially made for the Spring Festival or purchased or sewn by your mother. Suddenly, the dirty boy who didn't know how to be good all day was finally tidied up and waved around in front of his parents. Into the twelfth lunar month, parents will be very strict with our words and deeds, neither loud speech, nor foul language, do things more carefully in order to peace and smooth. Mother sat alone on the burning kang, quietly wrapping dumplings. Dumpling stuffing is prepared from radish, cabbage, tofu, vermicelli, spinach, agaric and carrot. It tastes especially light, fresh and refreshing. Until now the New Year is still so, long eat not tired, often think of or aftertaste long.
After midnight, we will kneel down and kowtow to our parents in front of the genealogy, sincerely thanking them for their upbringing and selfless efforts for their children. Parents will give us or a hair or two hair New Year's money, hope that our brothers can grow up healthy and happy. After worshipping parents, the family sat around the kang to eat reunion dumplings. At this time, the dumplings, the mother deliberately wrapped in two cents of coins, or for 6 or 8, later increased to 10 as many. These money dumplings are my favorite, who eat more money, grow up to earn the most money, in order to eat more coins, I always ask the god of wealth when eat less, and then keep the stomach at this time eat more, grab to eat, often are small belly bulging still continue to fill the mouth, until the mother persuaded to leave a few as Chen money before unwilling to give up, the result is naturally every year I eat the most coins.
After eating dumplings, he followed his older brothers to pay New Year's greetings to his elders. Every time he arrived at a house, the first person to enter would shout Grandpa, Grandpa, Aunt, Happy New Year, and then enter the middle hall in turn, facing north to invite the genealogy place, first kowtow to the ancestors of the generations, and then kowtow to the elders of the family one generation, two generations or even three generations older than himself, wishing them good health in the new year. Then to the kang room before a stop, the male host or pass cigarettes or greet tea, the hostess is to give us these children caught a handful of sugar, melon seeds and peanuts and other small food. At this time is my happiest moment, you think how can usually catch to eat ah, now is full of mouth to eat, pocket is full, face laughter is full. At that time, his seniority was the lowest in the whole village, so almost every household had to walk to it. It was usually four or five o'clock after all the prayers, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He continued to make noise and play.
Looking back now, at that time I do not know worry, do not know tired, do not know trouble, so in front of my parents, walking, jumping, running, playing, eating, crying, laughing, happy, spent one after another, unconsciously I also gradually grew up, gradually getting old.
Author: Walker
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