Queuing up to buy lanterns has become a festive "ritual": the pre-festival Jinfang snack bar is bustling

In front of ciqikou Jinfang general store, many citizens line up every day to buy lanterns, sell at 7 o'clock in the morning, and some people come to queue at 5 o'clock. Jinfang main store sells 16 tons of Lanterns per day. Photo by Pang Zhengzheng

The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month is a traditional Chinese custom. In recent days, the major Lantern sales points have ushered in the "long dragon" in advance. Since the beginning of the tenth year, in front of the Jinfang Snack Ciqikou Store, customers who bought lanterns have begun to queue up, and yesterday they have been lined up from outside the subway station to the overpass 150 meters away. In the warm sun breeze, customers before and after talked about stories related to the Lantern Festival, waiting for an hour or two, but not panicking.

Young people line up to send a circle of friends first

"Well, what is this for?" Coming up from ciqikou subway station, a long line just lines through the station. At 6 p.m., it was dark, and there were still few people outside the station. In the distance, a few small lights illuminated the golden and red background sign of the Jinfang Lantern, and the customer's inquiry also came faintly, "Is there any assorted one?" Give me a pound!"

"Big Mom, you can just line up, you can get in line today." There were two teams in front of the sales window, and many salesmen were busy. The sign outside the window says the types of this year's Lantern Festival, assorted, cocoa, low sugar, etc. The old people put on their glasses and looked up, and the young people took out their mobile phones one after another, first photographed the "long queue" in line, sent a circle of friends, and then quickly called home to ask what kinds of flavors of Lantern to buy.

"I've been in line for more than an hour!" Ms. Qin said that although it was still two days for the festival, because she had to go to work, she took advantage of the time to buy it back in advance, but she did not expect to queue up. Ms. Qin's idea has been echoed by many people.

Eating the Lantern is a "ritual"

"That must have been at least 20 years ago!" An uncle in the crowd continued to take a cigarette, as if selling Guanzi, taking a long sip but not following, everyone stared at him, waiting for the story.

What impressed the uncle the most was his experience of eating lanterns when he was young. Every fifteenth day of the first month, you have to queue up to buy the Lantern, the uncle said that at that time the people's life can not be said not rich, but the market is not so rich, ordinary days can not remember to eat anything special, to the New Year's Festival, the food of the scene is more hungry than now. When I was young, I loved to eat sweets, and once during the Lantern Festival, I actually ate 30 small Lanterns! Lying in bed at night was really uncomfortable, and I knew how to eat too much pasta and not digest it. "I didn't eat for a week."

Uncle said that now the market is very rich, want to eat what has not to wait for the New Year's festival, but to borrow a popular phrase, "life still needs a sense of ceremony", so what festival, or need some appropriate food, toys, want is the taste.

Low-sugar lanterns are favored by the elderly

"I live not far from here, and I've been queuing up to buy lanterns for more than ten years." Aunt Zhang told reporters that before Jinfang Snacks moved, she recognized this name in front of her home, and after the relocation, she still came to queue every year. In recent years, the variety of flavors of the Lantern has become more and more, but with the increase of age, they are not likely to eat sweet, and now the Lantern including many snacks have begun to add xylitol, which is very intimate.

In the team, many elderly people also came to the lantern with low sugar this year. The old people said that the festival map is a family reunion, there is a lively look, what kind of stuffing to eat, do not care. Just as he was speaking, a sentence passed in front of the line, the yellow rice Lantern was sold out, "It doesn't matter, it's been half a day, no matter what the taste, there is." ”

Change is required for cash payment

"Oops, that's it!" After an hour and a half of queuing, Aunt Liu squeezed out of the sales window, carrying two large bags of Lantern in her hand, full of smiles. Aunt Liu said that it took about 1 hour for her to take a car, and she wanted to pay attention to it on the fifteenth day of the first month of this year.

"As soon as my son leaves, in fact, the Spring Festival is over." Aunt Liu told reporters that his son does not work in Beijing, runs all over the country every year, and at the end of February, he is basically going to leave, and some years may not be seen in this year. Therefore, every year I count the days, looking forward to the early Arrival of the Spring Festival and the late departure of my son. This year, my son is here, and I have to live well on the fifteenth day of the first month. "I'm not saying that tangyuan is not good, we northerners are still used to the Lantern Festival." The reporter noted that in front of the sales window of the Lantern this year, there are two prompt boards, that is, cash payment is required, and customers who come to queue, especially young people, are best prepared in advance, do not queue for half a day to find that they are in a hurry. Jing Yiming, a reporter of this newspaper