There is a saying that "there are dates without dates, hit a shot." It means that even the slightest hint of hope, try it, don't give up.
As a food, jujube is already an indispensable thing in people's lives. My earliest memory of dates is in the early eighties. At that time, Grandma Seven was still alive, and our big family lived in a two-way yard in a ravine. In the backyard there are two stone pillars carved with monkeys and a date tree. Stone pillars were used to tie horses and donkeys. The dates on that date tree are the delicacies we look forward to every year. When the dates are ripe, they hang on the trees like red lanterns, and they contrast with the red and green leaves of the green leaves. And those of us who want to eat dates are already salivating. Grandma Seven has an order that dates are not allowed to be beaten until the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. Whoever beats and who is punished, everyone can only look at it and dare not fight.
Every august 15 morning we wait under the trees. Seven grandmothers are small feet, she walked to the tree with a crutch, called Grandpa to tell him to beat dates, brought a rattan dustpan to collect, Grandpa beat the dates hard, the dates fell like rain, like red lanterns landing on the ground, very beautiful. We care about what time we can eat. Grandma Seven said that after the moon festival in the evening, she would give it to us. At about eight o'clock in the evening, put a small table in the courtyard with mooncakes, dates, apples, incense burners, etc. After the family burned incense and prostrated their heads, Grandma Seven repented and told us to line up and give us dates. Watching us eat dates happily, Grandma Seven would always say happily, "The grandchildren will be smart when they eat dates." ”
Speaking of eating dates, there are many ways to eat dates now. There are many varieties of dates. Black dates, purple gold dates, large black dates, pear dates, wild sour dates, winter dates and so on. There are also derivative products of dates, such as sesame crisp dates, jujube flower buns, jujube walnuts, jujube cakes, jujube mud mooncakes, dried dates, jujube slices and so on. In many places, dates are a must-have for soups, porridge, and medicinal meals.
The medicinal value of dates has been recognized by most people. There is also a saying that "three dates a day, immortality". Jujube can double replenish qi and blood, which is rare in Traditional Chinese medicine. Most women believe that dates can nourish the face and replenish the qi and blood. Therefore, there is also a saying that "three dates a day, youth will always stay".
When I was a child, my favorite thing to do in the autumn was to beat small sour dates. Those small sour dates grow on the edge of the earth cliff. We all made an appointment to go together, with bamboo poles, hooks, baskets. Find a good place, first arrange people to prepare to pick up under the cliff. Then find someone to fight on top, and the person below to pick it up in the grass. Sit down and share after the game. It was a little sour, but it was a delicacy for us at that time.
I remember when I was a child, every family burned firewood, and our family had a big business, so often the firewood at home was not enough to burn. Once My grandfather asked me to go to the mountains to collect firewood, and we set off in the morning before dawn. I was still dozing off, and I was walking while napping in Grandpa's rack car. Since there are many people collecting firewood and there is less firewood in the mountain pass, we have to go deep into the mountains. After walking for a while, the sky slowly brightened. Suddenly I saw a sour date tree and I cried out in delight. Grandpa smiled and said, "I don't sleep when I see sour dates." "He beat a little sour date, and I put it in my pocket and ate it as I walked." I went back and gave it to Grandma, who said she was going to sour her teeth. Dates have mountain interest. The taste of dates in the mountains is better than the dates on the cliffs.
The memories that sour dates bring us cannot be erased for many years. Now sometimes when we go to the scenic spot and see sour dates, we will pick a few to taste, but we can no longer eat the taste of that year.
Dates have feelings, and dates have also been given more meaning by people. Wang Anshi has a poetic cloud: "Planting peaches is passed down in the past, planting dates to give what you want." In the real is a beautiful fruit, on the material and good wood. The harmonic sound of jujube is similar to "early", the meaning of red dates is to give birth to a noble son early, and some should be prepared on the marriage bed, representing everyone's good wishes, hoping that a couple can give birth to a noble son early. Jujube is a symbol of auspiciousness and happiness, and it is also a spokesperson for the prosperity and sweetness of life.
The famous pavilion of shuo jujube is passed down here, and the situation is newly picked and fresh. These days the dates should be ripe, and I am ready to go to the supermarket to buy a few pounds to taste.
