Although I have not been my hometown in spring festival for several years, one of the customs in my village always flashs on my memory.
New Year’s greeting at the first day of lunar year is the most conspicuous custom in our village which I had lived for nearly twenty years. It always becomes very clear when the Spring Festival is on hand.
The family members should get very early on the biggest day of New Year no matter how late he/she stays to spend the eve of New Year. Of cousre, excluding those who are the sinior in the family, for they will receive the greetings from the junior. After finishing the toilet and dressing up, the family holds the incense ceremony to sacrifice the god.
Usually, about five or six o’clock, the time to fire the firecrackers comes. The amount of firecrackers gernerally depends on the rich or poor of the family. The more they fire, the richer they may be. In our old village, the time of lighting firecracker is comparatively different from other places. In some places, the time is when apporaching the point of New Year (ie zero o’clock), whereas in our village the time is when the family begins to open the door.
After the firecracker time, the junior will send their greetings to the senior, including the blessing of being healthy and long-life, good luck, bright future, being rich etc. sometimes the senior will give red-package to the junior who is the child.
After greeting the senior of their family, then they will drop around to their relatives in the village and send their greetings. Particularly the new married couple would prepare some food (usually made by lotus root powder plus eggs) for the families that are their relatives. The family receiving the food will give some money to the new couple in return.
The day will be bright after finishing these courses. Then it is the very time for the whole villagers (usually the men) to send their greetings each other. Usually they gather together and enter the house one by one, sometimes the procession can be grouped by over twenty persons. The host treats them using the cigarette in a hurry. This splendid scene has been engraved in my mind firmly. The advantage of greeting each other is obvious. Some discord and grievance between the families could be reconciled by the warm benedictions just at the first day of lunar New Year.
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