Most of Shanghai's new customs are imported from the Jiangnan area, and blended into the customs of the north and south of the world, with the characteristics of peace, celebration, richness, joy and diversity, which is an important historical environment condition for the formation of Shanghai culture and the carrier of colorful urban culture.
In the 1970s and 1980s, many units in Shanghai made their own annual calendar cards during the Spring Festival. Shanghainese New Year every household should paste a New Year painting, the pattern on the top is some mascots, such as fish is called "every year there is more than enough".
Shanghai New Year paintings in the 2022 Maritime Customs Exhibition. Photo by Lu Yinlan
It is understood that although the Shanghai New Year Painting is not among the four major Annual Paintings in the country, due to Shanghai's unique regional environment and historical and cultural changes, Shanghai New Year Painting has also formed its own unique style. From the small school field New Year painting originating from the Taohuawu New Year Painting in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, to the Month Brand New Year Painting that led the popular fashion after the opening of the port, and then to the New Year painting reflecting the construction of the times, Shanghai New Year Painting has continued to develop in innovation. It not only carries the good memories of the older generation of Shanghainese about the New Year, but also becomes a special symbol of Shanghai culture and Jiangnan culture.
Nowadays, the moon card has faded from people's lives, but the distinctive form of painting on it has been passed down as a non-genetic heritage. At present, the suburbs of Shanghai have been painted by peasants into the New Year paintings, and they have also made their own characteristics, such as the Jinshan peasant paintings that express the era and are well-known throughout the country.
It is worth noting that the 2022 Maritime New Year Customs Exhibition launched exhibits such as Shanghai New Year Paintings, which can make the general public and tourists feast their eyes. The exhibition opened on January 1 and runs until April 10.
For Shanghainese, the New Year must be accompanied by tangyuan. There are sweet and salty, round and full, and the old Shanghainese eat tangyuan from the 24th of the waxing moon to the 24th of the first month. Today, in Sanlin Town, Pudong, Shanghai, the tradition of making and eating tangyuan in the New Year is still preserved.
Not only that, Shanghainese people also have a lot of attention to eating Chinese New Year's Eve rice, and each dish must be flattering. On the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner table, meat balls and egg dumplings are indispensable - meat balls symbolize reunion, and egg dumplings symbolize wealth and treasure.
In addition, dried bamboo shoots roast meat, meaning "high and high"; stir-fried collapsed vegetables, meaning "smooth" (slippery); spinach is called "Chang Geng cai" because of the long stem; green vegetables are green, also known as "Anle dish"; soybean sprouts are called "Ruyi dishes" because they are shaped like ruyi; shrimp AndHu dialect is homophonous with "welcome"; eating hot pot should be eaten while eating, steaming to symbolize the prosperity of the family; rice must be pre-buried water chestnuts, picked out with chopsticks during eating, called "digging yuanbao"; and radishes are commonly known as "vegetable heads", wishing for a good new year Finally, with spring rolls, tangyuan, eight treasure rice, rice cakes and other sweets, the finale is used to bless the future days with sweetness and sweetness.
In addition, the "Lantern Street Club" is a folk cultural activity that has been passed down for many years in Yangpu District, Shanghai, and is well received by the masses. This year, Siping Road Street in Yangpu District plans to hold the 17th "Lantern Street Festival" folk cultural activity with the theme of "Blessing the Tiger celebrates the New Year and celebrates the New Year and the Great New Year". The event will be carried out in the form of interactive garden visits and integrated online live broadcasts, mainly based on lantern riddles and intangible cultural heritage handicraft interactive displays, to send good wishes for the festival to people and community residents who cannot return to their hometowns due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
Layout Appreciation:
China City Daily ( 2022-01-17 22nd edition)
■ Author: China City Daily reporter Hu Anhua
■ Editor: Lina Zhu