Chinese New Year in my eyes

Updated: 2015-03-05 14:38

[图/People.cn]

By 何中

When a quick glimpse of my 30 years of life was cast, there was one prominent holiday called Spring Festival that stood out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion. Undoubtedly, it had been etched in my mind in that it was not only a conventional festival for Chinese, furthermore an influential gathering period. Today is the Laba Festival, which falls on the eighth of the 12th lunar month, the “Year of the Sheep”, which I am totally fascinated by and enamored of, is around the corner. Accordingly, it is high time for me to hark back to those jubilant days.

Spring Festival signified food, attire, firecrackers and pocket money when I was in my younger and more vulnerable years. Tradition has it that my painstaking and conscientious parents prepared various delectable food, tailor-made clothes, gorgeous firecrackers and sufficient pocket money. Here I have to introduce a special local food called Fish Noodle, which, bearing a striking resemblance to instant noodle, is made from fish, flour and eggs. When the last month on the lunar calendar came, nearly all households would produce this special food, eating it around the clock in my hometown. Moreover, I could wear my brand-new clothes after the family reunion dinner, buying whatever I used to be fond of with the gift money from the elders in my family, which was guaranteed to delight me. No sooner had the sun set than I, together with my cousins and peers, would set off firecrackers that were actually used to scare away Nian, an evil monster, in accordance to ancient legend.

Chinese New Year represented new achievement in study and a decent job after graduation as I moved into my early 20s. Thanks to the adoption of the opening and reform policy, our living standard had phenomenally improved, state-of-the-art technologies mushroomed and multinational communications became more and more frequent. Thus, education was seemingly inclined to be a yardstick for judging a nation’s comprehensive strength. As a college student, I made a concerted effort to acquire more techniques and knowledge as well as answer to the call of building a harmonious and affluent society. Besides, both my stern father and good-tempered mother would say lucky words to me, hoping I could be promoted to a high position and obtain a stable job in the forthcoming year. My uncles and aunts would also send their best wishes to me, such as gaining my bachelor’s degree successfully and encountering a charming girlfriend accidentally.

The year 2015 merely meant shouldering responsibilities for my aged parents, alluring wife and adorable kid immediately after I got married and had my own offspring. It is generally agreed that happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples, and the attending of the old and young is of no exception for it is a centuries-old Chinese virtue handed down from generation to generation. When I arrived home in recent years, about 10 days in advance of the traditional festival, I was easily prone to perceive that white hairs had started to emerge on my mother’s head, deep wrinkles furrowed my father’s low forehead, and I could be moved to tears by some simple words infused with emotion from my lovely daughter’s tiny mouth. As the only breadwinner of my family, I who would not hesitate to support any friend down on his luck should make a point of looking after them carefully.

Just to sum up, despite the fact that the meaning of Spring Festival does vary from person to person, that it stands for reunion, auspiciousness and a new start will never alter in the slightest.