How many kinds of New Year’s Eve dinners have you eaten in your memory?
Our reporter Wang Yao
There is a warmth called home, a happiness called reunion, and a taste called New Year’s Eve. Chinese’s New Year’s Eve is not only a symbol of reunion and affection, but also a unique cultural heritage. As the grandest and richest meal in a year, it is constantly changing its flavor. In the 1950s, materials were scarce, and everything was a "luxury"; In the 60 s and 70 s, you could eat chocolate, bitter is sweet, etc. In 1980s and 1990s, chickens, ducks and fish gradually appeared on the table. In the 21st century, chefs even come home to customize the New Year’s Eve dinner … People of every era have their own characteristics, and people of different ages have different tastes in their memories.
Fifties: satiety is the greatest satisfaction.
In 1950, the first Spring Festival in New China was ushered in. Because the country is in a hurry, it is people’s greatest satisfaction to have enough to eat. Only during the Chinese New Year, state-owned retail stores, cooperatives, public-private joint-venture food stores and other places that have something to sell really feel the goods are on hand, and they are full of customers.
New Year’s Eve in the 1950s
Traditional cakes, rice cakes and dried fruits are all "luxury goods", and every household can only afford a little. In the early 1950s, pork, beef, mutton, and various fresh fish and local products were specially provided for the Spring Festival, and the quantity was very limited. "At that time, most people’s staple food was cornmeal with wild vegetables or grass roots. It was a luxury to eat a lump of meat, let alone candy." Zhang Xiaolin, 79 years old, once heard from her father that life was too difficult at that time. Coupled with natural disasters, the New Year’s Eve dinner was not as beautiful as it is now, but a spoonful of radish and an egg can simply be regarded as Chinese New Year.
The scene of posting Spring Festival couplets in the 1950s.
At that time, the New Year’s Eve dinner was the best meal of the year. In order to have a hearty New Year’s Eve dinner, people had to run for chickens, ducks and fish. "When I was a child, I was most looking forward to the New Year. Only in the New Year can you eat a full meal of rice, as well as jiaozi and pork. " Ms. Liu, born in 1958, said that at that time, the supply of materials was relatively scarce. At ordinary times, housewives were very tight and refused to use a drop of oil. During the Chinese New Year, it seemed to be generous at once. There were braised fish and delicious rice at the New Year’s Eve, which were rare at ordinary times.
At that time, the New Year’s Eve dinner was particularly interesting.
"Even so, I think it was particularly interesting at that time." Zhang Xiaolin said, in my impression, people with a little culture help us write Spring Festival couplets. Although they are not calligraphers, they are unambiguous. In the era when there was no Spring Festival party, after dinner, children could be seen everywhere in the streets and open spaces. They rolled iron rings, smoked gyroscopes, kicked shuttlecocks and jumped rubber bands. Even if there was nothing, the once simple life was also a kind of happiness.
Sixties and seventies: supply by ticket
In the 1960s, the Spring Festival was a great opportunity to "relieve the craving", and the diligent housewives made the New Year’s Eve dinner with ingenuity. Most families are vegetarian-oriented, and those with better conditions have good meat and vegetables at the table. At that time, the quantity of meat, fish, eggs, sugar, etc. was small and the supply was limited, so people had to queue up to buy them by ticket.
"At that time, you can’t have money. You need two or two food stamps to buy a bun. All the items are rationed by the weight of the person. It is impossible for you to buy more." Aunt Pan, who lives in Hongxing Village, told the reporter that if you want to buy enough food during the holidays, you should go to the food company to queue up early, especially if there are few food stamps in rural areas. Whoever can get a few pounds of meat stamps and sugar tickets will have a rich year. "At that time, the dishes at the dinner table had to be clamped by adults before the children could move chopsticks. Because of their young age, it was also a happy thing to put on the’ new clothes’ that my brother had patched."
In the 1960s, Bao jiaozi celebrated the Spring Festival.
In the 1970s, it was still an era of ticket supply. A month and a half of eggs, three ounces of oil and dozens of kilograms of grain were planned for the whole family. In this era, the New Year’s Eve dinner is not only a time for family reunion in a year, but also some food that can’t be eaten at ordinary times will be served on the table, but preparing these dishes is a "war" for housewives. During the Spring Festival, in order to get a rich annual meal, people must "get up early and get greedy for the dark" to snap up, and then make a rich dinner from the "snapped up" dishes, watch the Spring Festival Gala and have a lively New Year.
New Year’s Eve dinner in the 1970s
In the late 1970s, liquor, chocolate, biscuits, cakes and sweets began to appear in the market. "At that time, eating a piece of candy can make you happy all day." Liu Ming, who introduced to reporters while visiting the vegetable market, said happily that only after experiencing the hardships of that era can we appreciate the happiness of this era.
80′ s and 90′ s: Chicken, duck and fish play the leading role.
In the 1980s, food stamps gradually faded out of people’s lives, and Chinese New Year’s meals were correspondingly abundant. In the twelfth lunar month, sausages and bacon almost occupy the windowsill of every household. "Although the economic conditions are not like now, sausages and bacon are indispensable foods for New Year’s Eve." Yin Xiulan, 54, recalled that in those days, making sausages and smoked bacon together was a sense of ceremony for the New Year.
New Year’s Eve in the 1980s
With the advancement of reform and opening up, it is no longer difficult to eat enough. From then on, the New Year’s Eve dinner on the table began to change obviously. Chicken, duck and fish became the highlight, and we also went to the market to buy some roast chicken and pickled fish that we were reluctant to buy. Some families are still busy preparing family dinners, but there are also plans to save trouble, buy semi-finished family packages and go home for simple processing. In jiaozi, some people don’t pack it, so they just buy frozen jiaozi or ready-made dumpling wrappers. Big fish and big meat on the New Year’s Eve dinner became commonplace in the 1990s, and seafood such as crabs and shrimps began to appear.
Compared with delicious food, Mr. Luo prefers the excitement of the family setting off firecrackers when eating New Year’s Eve. "Before eating, the adults hung firecrackers on the tree in front of the door. We hid behind the adults. After the firecrackers were released, the adults began to distribute red envelopes and then came to the table one after another." Mr. Luo told reporters that when I was a child, I was looking forward to the Chinese New Year. The firecrackers pinned people’s expectations for a better life and also reflected that the sense of ritual was gradually valued in life.
21st century: Eat healthy and invite a chef.
After entering the 21st century, everyone’s life is getting better and better, but their work is getting busier and busier, and their usual contact time is getting less and less. The annual New Year’s Eve dinner has become the best opportunity for relatives and friends to get together. After dinner, talk about the dribs and drabs of work and life, and look forward to the goals for the coming year. Everyone encourages each other and is happy.
Today’s New Year’s Eve dinner is rich and varied.
High-rise buildings stand tall, the streets become wider and wider, there are more and more vehicles, the earthen stoves are gradually decreasing, and the fog rising from the cauldron disappears from people’s sight year by year. In addition, the traditional form of family banquet has also been challenged. By the end of the 1990s, it became a trend for a family to go to a restaurant for "New Year’s Eve", which can not only have a good meal, but also save the trouble of washing dishes and washing dishes. Why not? "The cost of buying food to make a big table is similar to the amount spent in restaurants. It is also a pleasure for the family to go around after dinner." Wang Li, a citizen, told reporters that at first, because her parents were old, she chose to eat out when she wanted to worry about it. After a few years, it became the "tradition" of their family and took turns to do it every year.
No matter what age, it is the meaning of the Spring Festival to have a family reunion dinner.
In recent years, it is nothing new for a large family to "eat out". Many hotels also cater to the market and offer "New Year’s Eve" on-site service. Citizens can also "order" the New Year’s Eve dinner at home, invite the hotel chef to deliver it to the door or simply invite the chef to do it at home, which is convenient and enjoys the warm atmosphere of welcoming the New Year at home.
In addition, online shopping "semi-finished New Year’s Eve" has become the new favorite of "online shoppers" after the 1980s and 1990s. The so-called "semi-finished New Year’s Eve" means that the dishes are processed by the seller in advance until they are 70-80% mature, then the raw materials are mixed and packaged, and then they are sold together with the "cooking instructions". Just refer to the instructions and put them in a microwave oven or pot for simple processing. Even people who can’t cook at all can cook a delicious meal.
The year 2008 is a family holiday, the New Year’s Eve, and a year-end feast of reunion. Everyone has memories of New Year’s Eve: every New Year’s Eve, there are always plenty of fish, good luck of chickens, family reunion of meatballs, and even older friends of jiaozi … No matter how the year goes, how the form and dishes of the New Year’s Eve have changed, the New Year’s Eve records the changes of the years and entrusts people with their ardent hope and pursuit for a better life. This moment is always the happiest time of the year.
Some pictures come from the Internet.
Original title: "How many kinds of New Year’s Eve dinners have you eaten? 》
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