It's the Spring Festival. Who knows two days ago, my son suddenly said to me: "Mom, I actually don't love the New Year at all." I felt a little surprised, so I asked him, "Why?" I thought you enjoyed the holidays. Didn't you have a lot of fun on Halloween and Christmas before? The son shook his head: "Halloween can be cosplayed at home (role-playing), and you and dad will give me gifts at Christmas." But the New Year, it doesn't mean anything at all. Listening to my son's words, I fell into deep thought. In the end, when did the new year taste become weaker and lighter, and the Spring Festival gradually became a dull and vague day on the calendar...
01
I can't help but think back to the New Year when we were young, which belonged to the memory of the post-70s and post-80s generations. In the past, as soon as the Waxing Moon arrived, it was time to start buying for the New Year.
As a nursery rhyme sings: "Children and children, don't be hungry, after the lap eight is the year; la eight porridge, drink for a few days, mile mile la la la twenty-three; twenty-three, sugar melon sticky; twenty-four, sweeping the house day; twenty-five, frozen tofu; twenty-six, stewed pork; twenty-seven, slaughtered rooster; twenty-eight, put the noodles; twenty-nine, steamed steamed steamed buns; thirty nights to stay overnight, the first and second days of the first two full of streets." "At that time, there was no online shopping, no home delivery, and every New Year's goods had to be selected at the market.
At the crowded market, Dad bought a lot of stir-fried goods such as melon seeds, peanuts, and hazelnuts.
My mother picked for half a day in front of the stall selling Spring Festival and wall calendars, and compared and compared. In the end, she chose the wall calendar that she had been looking at the beginning and painted fat dolls.
Even grandma, who has always been frugal, has rarely been generous once, weighing two pounds of assorted candy. After paying the money, I asked the vendor for an extra piece, turned and handed it to me.
After the market, it is time to start preparing various foods. At that time, there was no entertainment, and the children's greatest pleasure was to watch adults kill pigs. With just a roar, the small courtyard was immediately filled with people. The host family was busy greeting and helping to discuss how to catch it, while children like me who watched the bustle were all tiptoeing and rubbing their necks.
Subsequently, a series of delicacies that cannot be eaten in ordinary days are served on the table: pork head meat, croquettes, pig blood sausage... One of the things I miss the most is the lard residue left over from the refining of lard.
As children circle around the pot, they watch the oil residue roll with the bubbles and the aroma of oil swirling and rising. I only hope that the fire will be bigger, a little bigger; the oil will come out faster, faster. After the lard residue came out of the pot, it was even more unbearable, so it was hurriedly stuffed into the mouth and felt the oil that burst in an instant.
In addition, prepare some chicken, duck, and fish. Steam a large pot of white and fat buns. Before coming out of the pot, some people will dip a small piece of red paper into water, and then bundle five sorghum stalks together, dip the red paper soaked in water, and give the steamed bun five red dots to show "good luck".
At that time, the New Year was when my parents firmly grasped my hand at the market, and it was the cooking smoke wrapped in the cold wind with the smell of meat. Despite the hustle and bustle, the thought of it is full of fulfillment and happiness.
02
The pace of the New Year is getting closer and closer, and the adults are getting busier. At that time, there was no bustling shopping mall, and I could only rely on my mother to creak on the sewing machine and make new clothes for the children.
Grandpa sipped a small glass of wine while writing the Spring Festival With a brush dipped in ink. The handwriting was full of ink, and the neighbor saw it and wanted to ask for a pair.
Grandma sat cross-legged and sat on the kang to cut the window flowers. Small scissors that flew up and down, one moment cutting out a big butterfly, the next a little magpie.
Dad's barbershop is also the busiest time of the year. Men tend to have a clean, flat head, while women think about perming a trendy curl.
There is a proverb that says, on the twenty-fourth day of the waxing moon, dust sweeps the house. My mother told us that because "dust" and "Chen" are harmonious, only from the twenty-fourth day of the Waxing Moon, sweeping away the old and sweeping the obscurity out of the door, can the new year greet the blessings.
The most memorable thing is the paste that the adults boiled. The boiled paste smells fragrant, and if it is thick, it can also pull out silk that is half a person high.
When the "six animals are prosperous" is pasted next to the pigsty chicken nest, the side of the rice tank is plastered with "five grains and abundant", and the wells in the yard are labeled with "endless flow", I know: It is really going to be the New Year.
At that time, the New Year was a flower cotton jacket, a handwritten Spring League, and red everywhere.
During that time, the first sentence when I opened my eyes every day was "When will I be able to celebrate the New Year?"
Mom always replied to me with a smile, fast.
03
At that time, there were no mobile phones and games, but children could always get happiness easily. The crackling of firecrackers came and went. In a few moments, there were confetti on the ground and white smoke that was difficult to dissipate.
The children rushed to hear the noise, picked up the scattered cannon that had not exploded, and put it in their pockets. It wasn't until his pockets were barely fit that he left satisfied.
Pulling the little friends to have a snowball fight together, waiting for the mother to get impatient, then patting her pants and rushing home. I just saw the first pot of dumplings, steaming hot on the plate. The aroma of the dumplings suddenly aroused the hungry worms in the stomach. Sit around with the adults, eat until your stomach is round, and then reluctantly put down the chopsticks in your hand.
After eating Chinese New Year's Eve meal, the children were still excited. Everyone's eyes widened until midnight on New Year's Day. Kowtow to the old man in the family and say an auspicious word, but his eyes have been staring at the red envelope in the hands of the elders.
Once, I carried a "huge amount" of money in my pocket, a few one-dollar steel hammers, and went out with my friends to run wildly. When I got home, I found that I had accidentally lost one. For several days in a row, as long as I thought about this matter, I couldn't help but feel sad and didn't go out to play. When Grandpa found out, he didn't say anything, but silently took out a dollar covered with creases, grabbed a large handful of assorted candy and handed it to me. After eating seven or eight sorghum dumplings in a row, I got better again and jumped out the door.
At that time, we were looking forward to the New Year.
I always feel that the New Year means that I have grown up again.
But I never thought that those who love us will gradually grow old year after year.
04
But now, 30 years later, how do children spend the Spring Festival now? They no longer look forward to new clothes under their pillows. After all, new clothes can be worn whenever they want, and you don't have to wait until Chinese New Year's Eve.
They also no longer look forward to Chinese New Year's Eve meal. Those ordinary chickens, ducks, fish, and meat can be found everywhere in restaurants and supermarkets, and they are tired of eating.
They don't even look forward to the New Year anymore. For them, it is really hard to imagine the scene of a family sitting around a lively chat, fireworks crackling outside the window, and devouring Chinese New Year's Eve meal. Their New Year was much more convenient and hearty than our generation.
But at the same time, it is much more empty and boring than us. Last year, my father and I took my son back to my hometown for the Chinese New Year. With a year-round supermarket, we no longer need to crowd people to rush to the market and hoard New Year goods; the family is no longer boiling paste, transparent glue is finished; Chinese New Year's Eve rice is more and more abundant, but like the Spring Festival Gala, in the eyes of the family, only tasteless... Throughout the New Year, my son kept complaining about the lack of wifi in the countryside and the lack of toilets in the house, asking over and over again "When will we be able to go home?" "At this moment, I realized that in this generation, the new year's ceremony has become more and more streamlined, so that the children's expectations for the Spring Festival have been streamlined. Without the sense of ceremony, the festival no longer looks like a festival, and the taste of the new year has become more and more faint.
05
Writer Wheat Qianqian said:
"What kind of ritual you give your child, what kind of values he will get from it." The Atlanta Daily newspaper in the United States once did a study, and found that the happiness brought about by "gathering stories and memories" at home far outweighed material satisfaction, and even exceeded academic and career success. Especially family traditions. The memories it leaves and the happiness it brings to all family members are endless and do not change with changes in life. So, instead of thinking hard about what to eat and wear for the New Year. It is better to create some sense of ceremony suitable for contemporary children and give special meaning to this festival, such as:
Prepare a New Year's gift for your child
A well-prepared gift can make children feel the love of their parents and can also give them the ability to love others. This gift doesn't have to be expensive, it can be a flower, it can be a greeting card, or it can be the toy that child has always wanted. It is important to give gifts to children to understand the meaning behind it: no matter what, we always love and cherish each other.
The whole family cleans up together
Today, cleaning together is no longer just about cleaning utensils, removing bedding, and dusting off dirt. It is more important to teach children the ability to organize and organize. Let them understand that the meaning of life is not how much material they have, but in having the ability to be independent and the courage to say goodbye to the past.
Invite your child to make Chinese New Year's Eve meal together
Take out our long-cherished tableware, give your child some small tasks, and ask your child how food should be laid out. In the pyrotechnics of chai rice oil and salt, look for the temperature of home and traces of love. Take a family portrait every year during the Spring Festival at a fixed time and place. Even if one day, the child grows up, he will not forget:
Home is their retreat and backing, and the love and intimacy between family members will never disappear.
Plan a family outing
During the New Year's holiday, instead of three people at home holding their mobile phones, it is better to plan a trip. The destination may not be far away, it may just be a nearby attraction or park. Let the child wear new clothes, with anticipation, and discuss the destination with the parents, believing that this will become one of the best memories of their childhood. In fact, the sense of ceremony does not require so much red tape and does not have to be a lot of trouble. Maybe it just took a little thought, a little more care. But at least, in the future, when our children mention the New Year, they will no longer think of just grabbing red envelopes and playing with mobile phones; one day in the future, when he recalls his childhood, he can also draw strength from the red in winter and the indissoluble temperature in the family.