China Shandong Network - Perception of Shandong, February 21 (Correspondent Yaxuan Jiang Feng, Xu Jianbo, Yang Lihua, Xiu Li, Tong Yanqing) On the fifteenth night of the first month, "lighting" is the tradition of the older generation in Haiyang, this "lamp" is a bean-faced lamp, and the beating golden flame carries the good wishes of the croppers to pray for the abundance of grain and the prosperity of the six animals.
On the morning of February 15, Zhao Cuimei, an 89-year-old villager in Dadian Village, Xin'an Town, Haiyang, Yantai, reconciled a small pot of bean noodles, moved the panel on the kang, black beans, combs, scissors, coins and other tools were arranged neatly, cross-legged, and concentrated on kneading the bean dough, Zhao Cuimei sat opposite his nephew Chi Jianqing and his nephew Xie Zihui. "When I was a child, I learned to make bean noodle lamps with my grandmother, and every year on the fifteenth day of the first month, the lights will be lit, which is the 'ritual sense' of our family's Lantern Festival, and I hope that my grandmother's craftsmanship can be passed on from generation to generation." This year coincides with the Beijing Winter Olympics, and today I am going to make a bean-faced lamp in the shape of an ice pier..." Chi Jianqing said.
Only to see the three people first kneaded the kneaded bean dough out of the prototype, and then local fine processing, like the monkey's coat, chicken wings, fish tail, the whole kneading process in one go, the works of different forms, elegant and exquisite, simple in the apparition, and finally with a cotton stick stained with soybean oil to make a wick, inserted in the lamp bowl, a cute bean noodle lamp is ready. "Put a 'toad lamp' behind the stove, and the toad is the embodiment of the 'god of wealth'; put a 'fish lamp' on the water tank, which means that there is more than one year; put a 'lantern for the spectators' in the grain hoard, wishing that the grain will be inexhaustible; and put a 'god worm lamp' on the windowsill, hoping that all poisons will not invade and the body will be healthy..." Zhao Cuimei introduced the bean noodle lamp.
The custom of making bean noodle lamps on the fifteenth day of the first month has a long history in the Hailai area, evolving from the custom of lanterns during the Lantern Festival, becoming a folk form of sacrifice and blessing, and prevailing in the local society with its unique simplicity and nature. During the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the "Laiyang County Chronicle" records that "the twelve noodle cups are steamed according to the order of the moon, so as to spread water and drought." "As the old custom is, the number of folds represents the month, one fold represents January, and two folds represent February... The twelve folds represent December. Lighting the lamp bowl and seeing how much oil remains in the bowl after the lamp is extinguished is the simple cognition of natural phenomena by the ancients.
In Haiyang, in addition to the December lamp, there are also twelve common phase lights, and what kind of phases the family members have, they must be pinched out with noodles. On the evening of the Lantern Festival, the family lights up the photo lamp, looks at each other's faces, and shines on the inside and outside of the house, seeking peace and health. "The lit 'lamp' is delicious, and after fifteen years, Grandma will cut the lamp bowl into strips, dry it outdoors, and stew it with radish noodles to eat, which is probably the most delicious taste I looked forward to when I was a child." 」 Chi Jianqing recalled.