Today's Lichun, the first festival after the Lunar New Year. In ancient times, this was an important festival of sacrifice, but also the season when farmers prepared for farming, and it was popular to beat spring cattle with whips, which was called "fighting spring". In terms of diet, it is popular to eat spring plates, spring cakes, spring rolls, spring boxes, lettuce, radishes and other "biting spring" during the spring season.
Lichun "Playing Spring"
Spring means that the weather is gradually warmer. The ancients paid attention to the three seasons of Lichun: "One waits for the east wind to thaw, the second waits for the stinging insects to vibrate, and the third waits for the fish to be negative ice." This means that at this time, the east wind warms up and the earth begins to thaw; the insects that live in the nest slowly awaken; the ice in the river begins to melt, and the fish swim towards the surface of the water carrying the broken ice chips.
"The plan of the year lies in the spring", lichun is an important festival of the year, which means the beginning of farming, and people often "whip the spring cattle" at this time. The spring cow is actually a cow made of clay, and in the old days people thought that the earth cow was a symbol of cold, and it was necessary to "unearth the cow to send cold air". Later, the folk believed that "the soil cattle were made to persuade farming", and the earth cattle became the symbol of spring, and the whipping of the spring cattle was called "whip spring". This custom has been passed down for a long time, and in the Poem of the Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Shu "ShengChun", it was written that "outside the gate of Whip Cow County, fight for soil to cover spring silkworms".
According to the data, in ancient times, people would use clay to mold spring cattle on the eve of Lichun, and whipped them with whips on the day of Lichun until the earth cattle were broken. In some areas, people throw broken pieces of dirt into the cowshed to bless the cattle with a year of safety and health. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the "Whip Spring" was more solemn, organized by the court, with the participation of civil and military officials, which also represented the importance people attached to agriculture in ancient times.
Li Chun "Biting Spring"
In terms of diet, there are special food customs during the Spring Festival, that is, eating spring cakes or spring rolls, etc., which is called "biting spring". The specific food of "biting spring" in different regions is also different.
Spring cakes
Spring cake is a kind of thin dough cake made of flour, which can be eaten with rolled vegetables, generally home-cooked side dishes, such as stir-fried bean sprouts or leeks with shredded meat, fried vermicelli, fried mung bean sprouts and so on. In addition, the way to eat spring cakes is also exquisite, when eating, these dishes should be wrapped up, from the beginning to the end, meaning that there is a head and a tail.
spring roll
Spring rolls are also similar to spring cakes, except that spring cakes can be eaten directly, and spring rolls are filled with a thin cake crust and wrapped at both ends, and fried in a frying pan until they are tender on the outside.
Spring tea
In the Wenzhou area of Zhejiang, Lichun is popular to eat spring tea, also known as "simmering spring". Tea here does not mean "tea leaves", but is chopped grapefruit, served with black or white beans, cooked with tea and drunk. There are also red beans, citrus, osmanthus flowers, etc. simmered with brown sugar until they are cooked, that is, spring tea.
lettuce
Lichun eating lettuce has been around since ancient times, and the data show that in the Han Dynasty, there was a record of "Lichun eclipse lettuce". However, the lettuce here is not what we call "lettuce" today, but refers to the wild vegetables that have just grown in the spring, and the folk give it good wishes for "welcoming the new".
Eat the loaf of bread
In the southern Fujian region, locals will eat runcakes in Lichun. This is a traditional snack in southern Fujian, wrapped in a thin crust of local spring seasonal ingredients, containing the local people's good expectations for the abundant spring rain.
White radish
In the northern spring, the most representative food is white radish. It is widely believed that after the spring, the yang of the human body gradually rises, and at this time people need to eat some white radish to nourish. Although this statement is debatable, white radish, as a vegetable, is indeed rich in nutrients.
Beijing News reporter Liu Huan pictures Beijing News information pictures
Edited by Zhu Fenglan Proofreader Liu Jun