It has long been dark, and the village has begun to become quiet. Although sporadic firecrackers are heard from time to time, it still makes people feel calm. This is the most quiet gestation before New Year's Eve, waiting for the most joyful explosion on New Year's Eve!
The women of the Xiao family were busy chopping stuffing, kneading noodles, and making dumplings, and Haizi also came over to help. Grandpa Xiao made a pot of strong tea and drank it slowly and slowly, with a long-lost smile on his face.
Uncle Haizi walked around from time to time, gathering supplies for handing out paper. Dazhu and his sister, who had run out to play, also came back at this time. While helping the adults place dumplings on the curtain, they vividly recounted what they had experienced while out playing.
"When your child grows up, you won't be able to be diligent. All the dumplings placed are lying down." Auntie said angrily while giving a demonstration to Dazhu.
"Third aunt, please pay more, so I can eat more." Dazhu begged.
"Wrap me one with a mark, and I'll pay for it too." Xiao Tiedan seemed to have experience, and he asked Aunt Xiao to pack a few marked ones for him individually.
"Wrap it all, wrap it all, wash the money, there are eight of them, I guarantee you can all eat them. The dumplings made now are put outside to freeze, and are reserved for cooking in the morning on the first day of the new year. After wrapping these dumplings, they will be eaten at midnight on New Year's Day of."
Grandma Xiao took the trouble to explain to her grandson. The smile on her face never broke for a moment, making her appear more kind and approachable.
After making the dumplings, there is still a little dough and filling left. Haizi knew that they were intentionally left over. Grandma Xiao said that leftover dough would provide clothes for the next year and leftover dumpling fillings would provide food for the next year. Farmers pay a lot of attention to the Chinese New Year. Even when speaking, they are not allowed to say "no" or other unlucky words.
Grandpa Xiao drank enough tea, stood up and said, "Let's see what time it is. Is it time to hand out paper? We have to get there first."
"Everyone wants to get ahead, and every year goes by faster and faster." Grandma Xiao didn't want to hand out papers too early, saying that if the papers were handed out early, life would go by faster, and as she got older, life would be too long. It goes by too fast.
While I was talking, the sound of crackling firecrackers could be heard outside, and some people had already started handing out paper. What farmers call paper-issuing is actually a ceremony held at the turn of the new year and the old. It is simple but full of fun.
Grandpa Xiao asked his aunt to boil water first and prepare to cook dumplings. Then everyone was called to the yard to watch paper distribution and firecrackers being set off on New Year's Eve.
The uncle brought soybean poles and sesame poles and placed them in the yard, ready to light the fire. The soybean stalks are burning brightly and the sesame seeds are blooming steadily, which indicates good luck in the coming year. Soybean poles and sesame poles were also prepared.
Grandpa Xiao drew three circles on the ground and put in three stacks of yellow paper. There were lists written on them, which were addresses written by burning paper money for his deceased ancestors. These addresses were written by Haizi, including one for Grandpa Xiao’s parents, one for Uncle Haizi’s parents, and one for Haizi’s father.
Grandpa Xiao asked Uncle Haizi and Haizi to kowtow three times to the southeast, light the paper in front of each other, and muttered to ask the deceased old man to collect the money.
Grandpa Xiao himself kowtowed to Nanfang, lit another piece of paper, and scattered it outside the three circles, saying that it was to send away ghosts and gods. Then he lit the pile of paper in front of him and kept mumbling. Gurgling.
The uncle lit the fire in the courtyard. Grandpa Xiao led the men to kowtow to the fire and sprinkled some yellow paper into the fire. When the fire was burning brightly, the big pillars were set off under the command of the third aunt. Set off firecrackers.
In an instant, the sound of firecrackers was heard endlessly, bringing people's joy and expectations to the climax. After the cannons were set off, flowers were set off again, and the festive atmosphere was pushed to a climax again and again.
That is to say, before and after Grandpa Xiao's family distributed paper, every household in the village also used the same ceremony to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. The sound of firecrackers and joy echoed in the sky, accompanied by the blazing fire.
The New Year's Eve dumplings were cooked, and my aunt threw a few into the fire, and put a few more under the lantern pole. Then everyone goes back to the house to eat New Year’s Eve dumplings, and the ceremony of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new is over.
Go back inside and set the table. Grandpa Xiao then led the whole family to wrap a few pieces of paper in front of the ancestral offering table, light the incense, put a plate of large dumplings on it, and after prostrating, they sat around the table to eat dumplings.
Grandpa Xiao still advised everyone to drink a little wine and say some auspicious words. The adults were not busy eating, and looked at the children devouring them with smiles, enjoying their happiness with joy on their faces.
"I'm eating one", "I'm eating one too". The children took out the copper coins from their mouths. The feeling of teeth chattering slightly and the show off of eating the copper coins were so delicious that they filled their hearts with happiness and placed their prayers and hopes for the future.
The children who are the first to eat their fill kowtow to the adults according to their seniority. The elders said happily: "Okay, okay, stop knocking." They took out a few small coins from their pockets and distributed them to the children's hands.
Aunt Xiao San is the most generous this year. She gives the children a piece of ocean to celebrate the new year, and Haizi also shares. This is a large amount of money, and most people cannot afford it. Grandpa Xiao wanted to say something, but because it was the New Year, he swallowed his words.
After the family finished eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, Grandpa Xiao asked his uncle to put new candles in each room and the lanterns outside, and asked his aunt to bring a full pot of dumpling soup for everyone to drink. Turn the original soup into the original food, and everything will go smoothly in the coming year.
Then he asked the third aunt to bring the frozen pears, frozen persimmons, and sand fruits as well as melon seeds and candies for the children to eat to their heart's content. He himself took out a deck of cards from the cabinet, laid out a cloth mat, and slowly laid them out.
"Dad, why don't you just go out and have fun with someone? It's boring to show off by yourself." Third Aunt knew that every year after eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, her father would go out to play for half the night and come back to reunite with his family on the morning of the first day of the new year.
"I won't go this year. I'll help your elder sister clean up later, and we'll play together. If you're not lucky at midnight on New Year's Day and have a bad year, I won't go. I'll play with you at home, and it'll be more fun to celebrate the New Year together. "
After cleaning up, the family huddled on a bed and ate snacks. Grandpa Xiao, Grandma Xiao, uncle, and aunt were playing cards on the kangtou. The third aunt led several children to play Galaha on the edge of the kang, and kept teasing Tiedan.
However, Tiedan still wanted to sleep, but the third aunt did not allow it, saying that if he went to bed early at midnight on New Year's Eve, he would not be energetic. So Tiedan came over to disturb him, and the third aunt stopped him from front to back, teasing him to prevent him from getting sleepy.
Several children were playing and making noise around the third aunt, and laughter filled the room and spread in the New Year's Eve night sky.
The farmer's New Year is very enjoyable, and it will gradually fade away after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. But on the morning of the third day of the lunar new year, according to custom, Grandpa Xiao finished offering incense to the ancestors he was enshrining, and after performing the last worship ceremony, he put away the ancestral tablets.
Of course, some farmers still have to worship until the fifth day of the first lunar month, and some families worship three generations of relatives and keep it all year round, but Grandpa Xiao's family has this custom, and they have to worship until the third day of the first lunar month every year.
However, as soon as the ancestral tablet was removed, Haizi felt that the flavor of the new year had faded a lot, and a nameless melancholy crept into his heart again. The same is true for the Xiao family. You can often hear the secret lamentations of Grandpa Xiao and Grandma Xiao.
