Memory: The Spring Festival
For traditional Chinese families, the spring festival is the chief topic of the whole year. It end an old year and start another new year. So the celebrations appear quite grand. In my family, the preparations commence two months or so before it. My parents’ hometown in countryside, every year we went back to reunion with all relatives. It’s a tradition to bring some bacon and sausage back, which are symbolic food in spring festival. So mama made bacon and sausage in early Nov. and when it came to spring festival they became esculent.
Several days before the important day we returned. It’s not the occasion to relax and spree. A lot of chores awaited us. Renovating the house roof、 purchasing firecrackers、 butchering livestock 、pasting spring festival scrolls…… it cost lots of labor. The New Year’s Eve is a prelude to the celebrations. A feast would be hold an all family members got together, chatting freely and happily, eating and drinking. Then they did what they liked. Some watched the spring festival gala evening, some played Mahjong and children would play their own games. At midnight, the point of intersection between the old year and the New Year, every family kindled the firecrackers. The sounds cracked and shaked the ground, declaring the beginning of a new year! The next day which was known as “The Spring Festival”, family members would pay respects to ancestors at their tombs. If some relatives lived nearby, one would visit them during these days and gave away New Year gifts (most time it’s money). Until the 15th of lunar calendar, the lantern festival, the spring festival comes to an end. Every year, I enjoy myself during spring festivals because the world in rural areas differed from that of cities and I could have delicious food, enjoy the feelings of reunion and breathe fresh air. How much I miss my hometown and my family! This is my first year to celebrate the day alone! What I could do is just recall the nice memories before! Oh, my hometown, my dear hometown, when can I go back to you?
What you have said brought back my vivid memories about Spring Festivals when I would go back to my grandmother's house to celebrate it. I share the same situation as you. My grandmother's house is in the countryside and many relatives are there, too. I miss the days spent with them. It was really enjoyable and secure...
ReplyDeleteThis blog remembers me many things about Spring Festival:the firework,rhe dumplings,the complets and so on.How I miss my family.May our parents and friengs will have a wonderful Spring F estival.
ReplyDeleteYour words have recalled my new year festival in my hometown.Even though I am now thousands of miles away from my hometown,I still can feel the festival atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteTrust me:All love can be,regardless if the distance and time.
this year we can't go back to china and spend spring festival with our parents and friends ,but we will have a more wonderful festival together ^^^
ReplyDeleteAhhh...tell me about it. One of my most vivid recollection of Spring Festival is the spring cleaning activity before the festival. My house would be in a complete mess and everybody would be shouting at each other at 100 Decibel! It's totally crazy and to say the least, tiring. As a child, I'd never understood the purpose of spring cleaing and never failed to drive my parents up the wall whenever I asked this question - "Why do we have to clean our house just for people who'll only visit us once a year?" And this, of course, is what I dread the most about the whole festival (It still is!). =P
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I fall into deep homesickness. Now in China should be full of festival spirit everywhere. My hometown, Changchun, is freezing cold now. Usually, we set off firecrackers outside and eat sugarcoated haws on a stick. May you have a happy Spring Festival!o(∩_∩)o~~
ReplyDeletethe spring festival in your hometown is lively . you, tian hua and i all write the festivel ,and we have the same feeling ,missing home . i also hope i can go home ,but i can not . i think since we chose to come to Singapore , we must experience something we do not like . so face them with our strong mind !
ReplyDelete