I'm not sure about other places. In my hometown, I usually prepare for the Spring Festival ten or twenty days in advance. As soon as the twelfth lunar month arrives, farmers buy glutinous rice and start making wine. Wine is an essential thing for Chinese New Year, especially the wine brewed at home. In Hakka dialect, this kind of wine is called "water wine", and in some places it is called "turbid wine". There is a saying at the beginning of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "White-haired fish and firewood go to the river, and you are used to the autumn moon and spring breeze. A pot of turbid wine is happy to meet, and how many things have been paid in ancient and modern times. " This turbid wine is "water wine".
I have heard old people say that when you go to other people's homes for the New Year, you will understand their homes as long as you drink their water and wine. Spicy wine shows that their family is stingy. Chili pepper wine is boiled in water once, which is' second-hand wine'. Generally, this kind of wine is rarely taken out to entertain guests during the New Year. A stingy person is afraid that his guests will drink too much, so the hotter the wine, the better. Some people's wine is not spicy, but tasteless, that is, some water is mixed in the wine, and those who can drink it will know. Of course, no one will say that there is water in the wine in front of the host. This is a matter of courtesy. The wine of generous people is different. Their wine tastes just right, neither bitter nor light. Of course, there are some special ones. If you drink very sweet wine, it means that a new person in this family has returned to her mother's house, and the brewed wine represents sweetness.
In addition to essential wine, there is also "fried fruit". This fried fruit is not a fruit picked from a tree and fried in an oil pan. This "fruit" refers to grinding glutinous rice and the rice we eat into powder, and then kneading it into dough with some water like steamed bread; Then cut it into strips with a knife, or roll it into round cakes with a rolling pin, and then cut it into squares, rectangles, circles or triangles with various shapes. People with a heart will also buy magenta, color the fruit, or write a few words to represent good luck. In Hakka dialect, all kinds of rows of fruits are called' mouse bones' and all kinds of flat fruits are called' scalded skin'. How these names came from is not clear. After the' mouse bone' is made, it can be fried directly in the oil pan, not in the boiling pot. The scalding skin must be steamed in a pot and then dried in the sun. The old people say that it can only be fried if it is dried. Among them, this freshly steamed scalded skin is very delicious. I loved it when I was a kid. When I make a perm, there are ingredients in it, so I can just grab it and eat it. Of course, after scalding, it can be fried in addition to frying. Stir-fry with special fine sand, pour a certain amount of special fine sand into the pot, pour some cooking oil on the fine sand, burn the fine sand to a certain heat, and then bury the sun-dried scalded skin in the sand. The fire of frying and scalding skin should not be too big, otherwise it will be easily blackened by hot sand. I like this fried skin, too, and I still like it. When I was a child, adults often said that scalded skin should not be eaten more. This thing was hot and nosebleeds, but we went to get it secretly, took a piece and ran away, leaving only helpless adults behind.
These things must be done before the 23rd of next year, or there will be no hurry after next year. Off-year doesn't seem to rise much in Shangjude. As long as I can remember, I haven't lived a small year. After the over-rehearsal in the off-year, we can see that everyone is busy, buying new clothes for children, New Pants, new shoes, new hats and new socks. It's new from head to toe anyway. This Chinese New Year can be said to be children's world. After buying children's things, we should also buy dry snacks for our guests after the New Year, such as dried bayberry, dried plum, dried peach, dried plum, raisins, olives and candy. Generally, at least six kinds should be collected for good luck, and some people collect nine or twelve kinds for generosity. And some meat to eat. These things have to be bought and stored in a few days, otherwise, in a few days, the market on the street will be closed for the New Year. We also need to buy firecrackers and fireworks in the countryside to express our joy. Shangyou county does not allow private release. These firecrackers and fireworks are our boys' favorites.
It was not until New Year's Eve that the men began to work, cleaning, cleaning the ceiling, doors and windows, cabinets, desks and other manual work. In rural areas, they had to dig the drainage ditch behind the house, and if there were gullies nearby, they had to dig gullies. In addition, it is also a man's job to kill chickens, fish and ancestors. Women began to boil water. In China, there is a custom of boiling water, that is, putting the branches broken from several camphor trees in water and cooking them together. Old people say that washing this water can ward off evil spirits.
At the same time, it is also a woman's job to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. In rural areas of Upper Judea, formal New Year's Eve dinners are indispensable, such as "boiled chicken", "beaten meat", "meatballs", "braised pork", "pigskin tickets" and "fish". White-cut chicken means slaughtering a chicken, taking out its internal organs, cooking them in a pot without any seasoning until the skin is golden brown, then taking them out and cutting them into two fingers, putting them neatly in a big bowl, steaming them in a pot until they are cooked. There is no seasoning from beginning to end. When eating, get some onions, cut some peppers, put them in a small bowl, pour in soy sauce and cooking oil, and eat them like this. In addition, boiled chicken can also be used to soak water and wine. Absolutely first-class, delicious. In fact, meatballs are similar to beef balls on the street, except that meatballs are chopped green onion and horseshoe pork. Then, stamp them with a knife until the three things stamped can't be distinguished from each other. Then knead it into a circle by hand, put it in a bowl covered with flour, roll it with a thin layer of powder, and finally steam it. Knocking on meat is different from braising in soy sauce, although it is all pork. The raw materials for knocking meat must be good, and it must be pork belly to make it. Knocking on meat is the same as boiling chicken without seasoning. Take a whole rectangle or square and put it in the pot until it is half cooked. After picking it up, cut it from the top of the skin, cut it into thin slices about two points thick, put it neatly in a big bowl, and then steam it. Braised pork is more casual. Cut the braised pork raw, cut into small squares, and then put it in a pot to burn. Some people like to add sugar to braised pork, while others like to add other side dishes. Fish, the fish eaten during the Spring Festival is nothing fancy, just to make up this dish. As for the pigskin ticket, it is dried in the sun, then fried with sand and scalded skin, boiled in water to soften, sliced, steamed and seasoned. I don't like this kind of food.
A New Year's Eve dinner basically takes an afternoon. In the evening, it's a reunion dinner. It's all here. You have to take a wine glass to worship your ancestors first. Big families at my age must respect their elders. A New Year's Eve dinner is full of laughter and respect, and the food is basically untouched. After dinner, it was my favorite gift as a child, but it has become a thing of the past.
On new year's eve, someone gave up the bondage and indulged in the night; Some people get drunk after drinking a pot. It's weird anyway. Everything is for the first firecrackers the next day. In our country, according to the custom, every household should turn on an all-night light to welcome the spring. It is called "Spring Lantern".