In the 1970s, rural life was poor, but for children, the Lantern Festival was full of happiness and longing, no matter how hard it was. Although it is not as lively, grand and colorful as the fire tree and silver flower in the city.
The ancients called night "night" and the first month was the first month of the lunar calendar, so the fifteenth day of the first month was called the Lantern Festival. Lantern Festival, also known as Shangyuan Festival, Yuanxi Festival and Lantern Festival, is the first full moon night of the Lunar New Year and the last folk activity of the Spring Festival. As soon as the Lantern Festival is over, the Spring Festival in the traditional folk sense is really over.
The chilly night in spring and colorful lights make this family's holiday especially warm.
Every Lantern Festival, Xin Qiji's "Jade Case, Yuan" and "Looking for him in the crowd for thousands of Baidu, suddenly looking back, the man is in the dim light" will quietly come to mind. And Ouyang Xiu's "Cha Sheng Zi Yuan Xi":
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the flower market is brightly lit.
The moon rose to the willow tree, and he met me at dusk.
On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of this year, the moonlight and lights are still the same as last year.
I will never see my old friend last year again, and my tears are soaked through my clothes.
Running around all the year round, every Lantern Festival, in the noise, I often feel lost and sad.
When I was a child, every household in the village was busy rolling noodles on the afternoon of the fifteenth day of the first month. My family is no exception.
Holding lanterns is one of the traditional artistic activities in rural areas of Longdong during the Spring Festival. On the Lantern Festival, most people in rural areas use millet flour and sticky millet flour to knead flour lanterns. Mother first made cereal flour, kneaded it into corncob, steamed it in a cage, then kneaded it into a lotus root-shaped flour stick while it was hot, cut it into small pieces, squeezed out the edge, squeezed out the lamp holder, cut it out with scissors, and twisted it by hand. Various petals appeared on the round lamp edge and lamp body. After the lantern is kneaded, wrap it on the stem of wormwood with new cotton, insert it into the lamp holder, and fill it with clear oil for use at night. But this is just an ordinary lantern, simple and exquisite. Children often jump and watch for a while, then they can study like adults.
The most difficult thing is to pinch dragon lanterns, monkey lanterns, lanterns and dog lanterns. No matter adults or children, everyone has their own zodiac lights during the Lantern Festival.
What is particularly interesting is the monkey lamp. On the head, back, shoulders, hands, arms and feet of a big monkey lantern, there will be many small and exquisite monkey lanterns, some of which are not as big as fingernails. The more monkey lanterns there are on the big monkey, the more you can see the kung fu of holding lanterns. Because it is the crystallization of wisdom and art to make the monkey lantern lifelike, and the mind is handy.
Every year, a headlight sits on the throne. The Year of the Monkey is a big monkey lantern, and the Year of the Pig is a big pig's head lantern. Of course, there will be lifelike dog lanterns in the Year of the Dog. The flowers are similar every year, but the headlights on the throne change with the zodiac.
Adults pinch flour lamps, while children like to join in the fun, pinch for a while and play for a while. Knead a piece of dough, but it can't be vivid. As a result, the golden grain flour gradually changed color in the hands of children, and it left the dough and ran away in the bristle of adults.
Surface lamps are provided in different places, with different sizes and shapes. For example, there is a kitchen lamp in the kitchen, and a pig's head lamp is often provided on the pot cover, which is about expecting meat in the pot every year. Pinch a small fish lamp along the water tank, a chicken lamp on the chicken shed and a wheat pile lamp on the grain depot. Every surface lamp has symbols and wishes.
After the lights are lit, night falls, incense is burned and firecrackers are set off. Then, the family began to light the lamp devoutly. When lighting our own zodiac lights, we will solemnly make a New Year's wish for ourselves. If this year is the year of the pig, make the pig's head lamp as big as a plate and put it in the highest place. After lighting this headlight, everyone will light their own zodiac lamp. Then we caught some ordinary lights, and whoever lit more lights had the best luck in a year.
Clear oil is not easy to ignite. You should first ignite the straw in your hand, and then use it to ignite the surface. Every time we light a lamp, we clap our hands to celebrate and share the joy of success.
Pinch the lamp, let me learn to observe life; When I turn on the light, I can see big light from small shadows. Small lamp let me understand that everyone's life is a shining lamp.
Sometimes, with the help of adults, we will stick some red lanterns with red paper and thin bamboo strips ourselves. The shape of the lantern is designed by yourself. You can tie it how you want, as long as you can figure it out and your hands are skillful. I remember that the lamps we made at that time were spherical, square, barrel, octagonal, prismatic, red paper and yellow paper. If it is yellow paper, colorful patterns will be drawn on each side, such as chickens, puppies, flowers and a clump of bluegrass, and ears cut from colored paper.
When the light is ready, put the lighted small lamp in it, so that the wind is not easy to blow out. Then, a group of children, holding small lanterns in one hand and their own flowers in the other, were noisy. As soon as the master came out, westerners went in and ran around the village, listening to the adults praise who tied the lanterns beautifully. Children in the village will chase each other until after midnight.
It's hard to see flowers now. When I was a child, an autocratic flower-throwing craftsman made it in advance and sold it on the market for more than 20 yuan for a dime. If you can get the medicine, you can do it yourself. The paper was twisted into a tube as thick as straw, which contained medicine, slightly longer than chopsticks. Flipping flowers, igniting, poking sparks, dancing, finely divided Mars will draw various flowing patterns with its arms in the night.
However, life was difficult at that time, and the life of neighbors was very difficult. Not every child can realize this small wish. Tie red lanterns. In bad times, some people can't even afford a dime of red paper.
The flour of the noodle lamp is a kind of glutinous rice. My hometown is Jiugu, with low yield and little cultivated land. Most people don't grow much. However, this kind of grain can be used to brew rice wine. The steamed grain powder is sticky, soft and slippery when it is hot, and hard when it is cold, which is very suitable for kneading flour lamps. After the Lantern Festival, slice the noodles, put them in the pot and pour a few drops of clear oil. The steamed bread on the kang is soft, sweet and delicious.
In order to make us have this kind of happiness and joy every year, my mother never forgets to plant a small grain of wine, brew some yellow wine and entertain friends and relatives with sweet rice wine every year. Grind the rest early, and keep the dough lamp for our Lantern Festival.
"In Yun Zheyue, it snows on August 15th, and lights are lit on January 15th" is an agricultural proverb, which tells the importance of climate, agriculture and folk customs. Children value the joy and excitement in folk customs.
The happiest and most lively thing is to watch the new son-in-law light up on the Lantern Festival. People with a little culture will also make some riddles for children to guess. The laughter in the yard was loud and noisy, so lively.
In winter in rural areas, there is little farm work and the days are very idle. As soon as the twelfth lunar month comes, there is always a happy event in the village to marry a girl and daughter-in-law. According to the old custom in my hometown, after a girl gets married, she will take her son-in-law to her mother's house to light a lamp on the first Lantern Festival, commonly known as "Duandeng".
Watching the new son-in-law light a lamp is an indispensable joy and yearning for rural children in the Lantern Festival.
Children have long known who has a new son-in-law in the village. After lighting our own lanterns, we hurried to the house with a new son-in-law. Because of this family, the elderly who know how to pinch lanterns best are often invited to pinch lanterns. Not only do lanterns look good, but there will also be many small lanterns for watching adults and children.
If the lighting setting is too low, the groom will touch the ground a little, which will reduce the excitement and interest. Generally, a six-story tower-shaped platform will be built, with a height of nine floors. There are not only lights on each floor, but also money in the four corners. On the first floor of the table, on the first floor of the stool, hundreds of lifelike lights are placed on several high shelves, and the new son-in-law should start lighting from above. The difficulty not only tests the intelligence of the new son-in-law, but also makes it more festive and lively.
The surface lamp is put higher than the eaves, so you can't see it when you look up. What's the point?
The new son-in-law always has a way. Some will wrap cotton on a long pole, dip it in clear oil and light it like a long torch, but when the lantern is held high, it is difficult to light it by feeling with a long pole. Windy weather is even more troublesome.
The lamppost of the new son-in-law will be prepared in advance, but it is difficult for the children to find ways to make trouble, steal the lamppost and secretly pour water on the cotton swab dipped in oil. Some children will hollow out a long bamboo pole in advance, and the new son-in-law will stretch out his neck to light a lamp. Children will blow their cheeks with a hollow bamboo pole, and some will hold a broom to fan the wind. In this way, over and over again, the new son-in-law did not light the lamp. This is what adults and children want.
If the lights are not lit, the new son-in-law will have to salute and plead with the neighbors who are watching the lights all over the yard. The elders brought wine and offered cigarettes, and the children distributed fructose. Give a circle gift and say that you will quarrel for a while. Sometimes, the new son-in-law will be asked to perform a program. Seeing that the adults and children at the scene were satisfied, the person in charge lowered the shelf of the face lamp by one layer, and the new son-in-law lit it again and continued to salute for mercy. In a burst of laughter, the new son-in-law was tossed, and the difficulty of lighting the lamp was reduced bit by bit. The headlights are lit, and in the midst of cheers, children can catch a small lit lamp. And the new son-in-law will not touch the great light. It is a custom for the newly-married son-in-law and daughter-in-law to take them home the next day, which is the eternal sweetness and happiness in the hearts of newly-married couples.
Later, after reading a little history, I realized that the old custom of "lighting" in my hometown actually originated from the custom of lighting in Dunhuang. Up to now, there is a saying that "the lamp is on the top of the lamp" in many areas of Longdong.
Watching the new son-in-law light up, the children will get some fruit candy and one or two small lights in the excitement. I remember a little boy named Wang Cai next door. He wrapped candy in a piece of plastic paper. He can never eat anything. He took it out and licked it when he was greedy, and then wrapped it carefully. More than a month passed, and on my way to school, I saw him licking the candy he got from the Lantern Festival. I have been away from my hometown for almost 30 years. Sometimes, when I see others eating sugar, I can't help but think of Wang Cai and the way he sticks out his tongue and licks it carefully.
On February 2nd, the dragon looked up. The Lantern Festival ends here. On this day, everyone will cut their hair, hoping to bring good luck for a year. In my hometown, people not only cut their hair on this day, but also fry beans in every household. Early in the morning, standing in the yard, the smell of fried beans filled the air, which made my nose tighten.
Fried beans is a very special thing. Whole grains will be fried in all kinds. I remember when I was a child, I often fried wheat, corn, soybeans, soybeans and peas at home. The heat is well controlled, and seasoning is put in the roasted seeds and nuts. The fried beans are crispy and full of flavor.
On this day, in the classroom of the school, it is indispensable to stage a different kind of excitement. The children put all kinds of fried beans in schoolbags and pockets and exchanged them one by one. Once, the teacher was disturbed by the constant banging in the classroom and said angrily that the class could not go on, so everyone took out beans and scrambled to eat them. The classroom was suddenly drowned by the creaking of the roof.
In fact, before the Lantern Festival, popcorn merchants will come to the village.
The master who popped popcorn found a flat land in the village. There is a dark round gourd-shaped iron guy on the coal stove, with a disc showing air pressure at the back of the tail and a manually operated iron handle. The master who popped popcorn "pattered-pattered-"pulled the bellows with one hand, while the other hand kept turning the black gourd on the fire, and the flames roared. The fragrance of rice flowers quietly heats up and expands in the belly of gourd.
Some are holding babies, some are holding corn in bowls, waiting for flowers to bloom, and people of all ages are watching the excitement floor by floor.
As soon as the fire arrived, the fireworks master put on gloves and took the black iron gourd out of the stove. The flame in the furnace suddenly rose, and Mars rose high into the air like fireworks. The black gourd is aimed at the thin wire to make a net bag, and an iron bar is pried hard at the switch, which is clean and neat. "Boom-"There was a loud noise, and a heat wave came to my face. The steaming popcorn spilled out of the bag. The children shouted "Oh-Oh-"and grabbed the popcorn.
The thunder rang for a while, and the rice was fried again and again. The children shouted and pushed again and again.
A dime explodes a bowl of corn, and every family will explode some. But the children are always around the popcorn man. They like the atmosphere and smell in the lively room.
Deep-fried five-grain beans, my mother will make us a different food. Stir-fried five-grain beans are mixed together, sesame seeds, almonds and salt are added, and ground into noodles on a stone mill, which becomes delicious fried noodles. After school in the afternoon, scoop a few spoonfuls from the crock. Dry eating is a taste. Add boiling water and stir, and it becomes camellia oleifera or sesame paste, which relieves hunger and is very fragrant.
In addition to holding lanterns and lighting lanterns, there is also a big eye-catching drama on the Lantern Festival-playing social fire.
In villages with high enthusiasm and high spirits, the rehearsal of social fire began as soon as the twelfth lunar month, while others took action on the first day of the New Year's Day. Every village is full of gongs, drums and firecrackers. The old man who knows the drama guides the young man, who folds one by one according to the drama on the stage. Dressed up, put on costumes, and go through the procedure, each village will come up with its own winning trick and wait for the first prize on this day.
In the early morning of the fifteenth day of the first month, the village fire brigades set out armed to the teeth, first assembled and displayed in the township streets, and then toured the village separately.
Playing social fire is not like singing a big drama on the stage, but singing lyrics. Shehuo is a play. People who perform social fire wear costumes of characters on the stage and hold props, which are arranged into various discount plays in the order of appearance. People who know drama will clearly know what drama is, what drama situation is and what story is.
As far as I can remember, the social fires in the era of people's commune and production team were beating gongs and drums, kicking Hua Gun, and rowing dry boats. After the family production quota, the ancient style is getting stronger and stronger, and occasionally there are some modern costumes, but most of them are costume dramas. People dressed in costumes stand on stilts one meter and five meters high, or ride mules and horses, or stand upright on floats decorated with tractors, with gongs, drums, social fire flags and colorful flags clearing the way in front, which is magnificent. Chun Guan is wearing a hat and holding a big folding fan. With a wave of his hand, the fan clicked in the air and the sound of gongs and drums came to an abrupt end. Chun Guan said loudly: Firecrackers can kill the old year, and Man Cang is rich in grain. As he spoke, the gongs and drums began again, so repeatedly, with tacit understanding. Spring officials are mostly dressed up by people with eloquence and context. When they see something, they have to make up words on the spot. They talked about it when they met a bridge. When they see a baby praising a baby, their words are fresh and appropriate, and they applaud. Someone will give Chunguan a red. The red is mostly a red silk quilt with peony flowers fluttering.
After gongs and drums and spring officials, there are two big lions dressed up by six people, followed by groups of costume dramas.
When two social fire brigades meet, the eloquence contest between spring officials is essential. You say a word, he says a word, and a word showdown begins, each one is more exciting, and no one will admit defeat. The team stopped moving, and officials tried to show their eloquence in spring. The two lion dancers also played hard, with duets, firecrackers, gongs and drums and cheers coming and going. The sound is like spring thunder, and they rush to the heights like waves. There are cultural competitions, spiritual competitions, and more rap and yearning for a better life in the hustle and bustle.
From the highway to the street, there are crowds everywhere, and excitement and celebration cover the earth. All the units and pavements in the street, big or small, have console tables in front of their doors, and prepared fruits, cigarettes, alcohol, sugar tea, red envelopes, incense sticks and firecrackers, waiting for the Spring Officer of the Shehuo Team to send a good wish for the New Year.
From the early hours of the morning, the excitement and joy of this day will last all day, and some social fire teams will play until dark before returning to the village.
As the old saying goes, one side of the soil and water will support one side. It is a custom, a ceremony and a traditional festival culture to hold a lantern, play with social fire and stir-fry beans, which often reflects a nation's love and joy for life. Custom is the product of history, which will change naturally in the development and change of society, some will disappear quietly, and some will be injected with many artificial new ingredients and elements in the development.
People who haven't seen popcorn in their hometown for many years are rare. Instead, lanterns or paper or silk are mass-produced in the streets. They are colorful disposable toys, simple and worry-free. This year has passed, and we will talk about it next year.
An old man who knew traditional customs passed away, and one after another passed away. Just when the excitement was gradually sparse and scattered, groups of young people were driven by dreams and desires to wander around, rushing home to see the old man and children, and then rushing out to work, unable and unintentional to arrange a lively and festive social fire.
Life is getting better and better, new things are springing up like mushrooms after rain, and those meaningful joys are gradually fading away. No matter rich or poor, the customs in the New Year Festival, even the most fashionable things, lack the piety and excitement of traditional culture, and the taste is weak and the interest is gone.