The hundred festivals are the first, and the New Year must have a New Year's flavor. Where does the New Year's Flavor come from? There is a saying in Ala Shanghai that the first thing to do in the New Year is to "worship the old ancestors."
I remember when we were young, the material was far less abundant than it is now. But every New Year's Day, no matter what, the family will put a full table of meat dishes, and the brothers and sisters will change into new clothes and circle the table with their eyes. Although they all look forward to eating early, they know in their hearts that they are not allowed to go to the table without worshipping their ancestors. So, when the dishes were served, the parents and elders were all cleaned up, and the worship ceremony began. In the order of the eldest and youngest, each prostrated respectfully; the juniors also prostrated themselves one by one, but their hearts and eyes were still on the chicken and meat on the table.
When I grew up, I slowly understood the connotation and significance of this worship ritual, which contained reverence for heaven and earth and gratitude for my ancestors. The traditional virtues of the Chinese nation have been passed down from generation to generation in these festivals and rituals. As small as a family, as large as a country, we must not forget the road to come, and we must not forget Ben.
Now every Chinese New Year's Eve, the family still prepares a table of dishes, and my wife and I take our sons and daughters-in-law to respectfully worship heaven and earth and ancestors, and then sit around a red-hot New Year meal. Nian Wei was in the busy preparations of the family, in the respectful worship, and at the reunion dinner table.
In addition to worship, the taste of the New Year is also presented in the word "Blessing" posted in each household.
"Fu" is an ancient script on the mainland, and it is also one of the most auspicious and popular characters. In the Song Dynasty Wu Zimu's "Record of Dream Liang", the customs of the Spring Festival are described: "No matter how big or small the family is, the shishu family sweeps the door, removes the dust, purifies the court household, changes the door god, hangs the bell, nails the peach charm, sticks the spring card, and sacrifices the ancestors." Among them, the "sticker spring card" is to write the word Fu on red paper and paste it in front of the gate. Book VI of the Han Feizi says: "The blessing of the whole life is rich." The "Five Blessings" in the "Five Blessings Linmen" that we often say are also proposed in the "Shangshu Hongfan": "One is shou, two is rich, three is Kangning, four is good and virtuous, and the fifth is the end of life." ”
To this day, praising others for their good lives and happy lives is still saying "good and blessed." "Blessing" is the people's yearning for a better life and their wish for the consummation of life.
△ Zhang Guoen, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
At present, all parts of the country are guarding the safety and health of the people under the background of strict epidemic prevention and welcoming the Year of the Tiger in the Lunar Calendar. In order to express my deep respect and gratitude, I wrote nearly 2,000 pairs of "Fu" characters in the style of Shiguwen, with red Chinese knots and diamond-shaped outer frames, framed into hanging artworks with outer squares and inner circles, and presented them to Chinese and foreign people who contributed to the fight against the epidemic and social and economic recovery. At the same time, it is also expressed in ancient calligraphy Chinese people's wishes for the New Year and their wishes for happiness and auspiciousness.
On the occasion of the new spring, let us thank the ancestors and all the guardians together, and write the blessing word, send the blessing word, and paste the blessing word together. May every family be reunited, blessed, and prosperous!
Author: Zhang Guoen, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Edit: Huang Zhe
Review: Jiajia Zhou