Speaking of the New Year, it is natural to think of the local New Year customs in childhood, and can't help but think of a ridiculous joke of dates.
In the early 1950s, when the rural economy was scarce, peasant families were poor. A week before the New Year, my parents prepared New Year goods: corn flowers in the stove pot, corn balls with fried black sesame seeds and maltose glued together, sesame sugar flakes, candy, brown sugar and dates for sugar tea on the morning of the New Year, and the mother also prepared new coats for the four brothers and sisters. The New Year has become the most extravagant and most anticipated day for children, unlike now that life is rich and every day is the New Year.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, the brothers and sisters got up from bed, put on the new clothes prepared by their mothers, and walked out of the room one by one, after washing, the parents had already prepared one serving of each person on the stove containing two dates of brown sugar water, which was a ritual that must be done on the first day of the New Year at that time, it is said that after eating this cup of tea, life will be sweet and red in the new year, and the small meal will grow bigger. In fact, this is an allusion to the people's prayers and expectations for a new life.
Sugar tea to eat into the mouth sweet to the bottom of the heart, especially the sticky and sweet golden jujube is really delicious, I took advantage of the brother to go back to the room to get something, others did not pay attention, fished out of his bowl of a golden jujube swallowed in the mouth, and when the brother came out of the room to pick up the tea bowl and wanted to drink, suddenly found that there was one less jujube and cried loudly. My mother immediately came to me and asked if I had eaten more, and I shook my head and deliberately said that my brother had eaten it before he entered the room. The mother scolded her brother, and he was wronged and cried even more fiercely. The mother turned around and asked the two sisters, they both said that they did not eat much, the mother trained the younger brother, so angry that he did not eat breakfast, went back to the room to cover the quilt and cried.
After eating breakfast, my mother put the prepared candy, melon seeds, sweet corn flower balls, and sesame candy on the table, and we all happily put it in our pockets, leaving only my brother's share there. The kind father went to the room to persuade his brother and promised to make up a mouthful of dates for him, and the naïve brother listened to his father's words and enjoyed the New Year goods happily after breakfast.
Time has passed, I have passed 75 New Year's Day, and the past of eating a date 68 years ago is particularly memorable to me, and I can never linger or erase. At present, almost many people have changed the habit of drinking sugar tea and eating dates, especially I have diabetes, which has nothing to do with it, I feel ridiculous and guilty about the stupid things that hurt others and benefit my brothers in my childhood, and I feel ridiculous for my own pursuit of enjoyment and dishonesty.
Yes, the times are different, life is richer, the quality and way of the New Year are different, it is really not what it used to be. But what remains unchanged is the folk customs, family customs, family rules, the people's pursuit and hope for a new life, but also the country's prosperity and development, the family's happiness and harmony of the strong New Year's flavor!
Author:Zhou Lianguan (Retired Teacher)
Images are from the web
Editor: He Tingting