The Customs and Habits of Chinese New Year in Henan Province

Twenty-three, clean the house, move everything in each room to the yard, start washing, start brushing, then clean up all the dust accumulated in the house for a year, and then move the washed things into the house (a little troublesome and tired). Finally, at night, all the old people posted a picture of Kitchen God in the kitchen. On the 23rd, they will take it down, light incense and burn it (that is, send the old kitchen god to report the situation). So, as long as I can remember, I knew that on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the old stove was in heaven. God speaks well, and the next one is safe.

24. Take out the necessities that need to be cooked, such as fish, meat, chicken and vegetables, wash them and kill them alive to prepare for the food to be cooked in the next few days.

Twenty-five, rest. (you can do the latter)

Twenty-six, steam steamed bread, start making flour, mix flour, steam steamed bread. A few pots full of noodles. Make the steamed buns round one by one, bare and beautiful. Sometimes we have to steam two or three bags (flour bags at home), because we did this once a year ago, and we haven't made steamed bread for a while after the Chinese New Year.

27. cook the meat bought cook the meat and cut it into small squares as provided above. Then put it in a pot to cook. It smells good. Cooked meat, lean meat, and some meat with bones have all entered the child's stomach, hehe, eaten. Some dried vegetables can be cooked, and you can "braise" the broth (the most common ones are kelp, day lily (cabbage), dried bean curd, and then sliced meat). Made some pots of vegetables.

Twenty-eight, stir-fry, fish at home, like to eat after frying, and then there are fried chicken pieces, shrimps, mung bean balls, big balls (dried steamed bread crushed and mixed with broth to make balls, vegetarian chicken), tofu. . . . . . Too much. Don't say that. Parents are busy doing it, and our children are busy eating and thirsty, so we can't talk about it yet, or we will be scolded, hehe, I don't know why. A lot of delicious food was fried, and we were all full when we were fried.

Twenty-nine, busy packing things for the New Year. Dad, I may be busy going to other people's homes to congratulate me, because there are many people who get married and buy wine for the New Year. Then, dad will also take time out in the afternoon to write couplets to neighbors in need. (Of course, there are many people selling couplets now. However, I bought the one at the gate, and I wrote everything else myself. This is what my great-grandfather said when he was alive, and he is not allowed to buy it. Maybe grandpa used to write couplets. )

Thirty, this day jiaozi will contract. My mother basically contracted the family. Then, we will help a little. Made in jiaozi, there are meat stuffing and vegetarian stuffing. In the afternoon, the children will put on new clothes and start putting up Spring Festival couplets. Then, they will go out to show off. In the evening, I will eat jiaozi, get together with my family, have New Year's Eve dinner and watch the Spring Festival Gala. Before twelve o'clock, we should set off firecrackers in front of the door. This is called "closing the door".

On the first day of the New Year's Day, the adults began to get up, first lit the cannon, and then paid homage to their deceased relatives. I started to eat jiaozi. I remember the first time I heard the old man say that you can't move meat at night, so the vegetarian jiaozi doesn't care so much now. At this time, all the children have to get up. Then, set off a string of firecrackers to start the new year. Eating steamed bread in the morning shows that you are in solid health this year. By this time, villagers will go home to pay New Year greetings. When they meet, they will say: Happy New Year ... until noon.

By the way, the folk customs in North China are similar. Especially in Shandong and Henan, we can learn from it.