When I was a child, I heard from my grandfather that in the old society, fasting was very strict. On the first day of the first year, you should eat vegetarian food for a whole day and don't touch any meat. During fasting, the whole family put on new clothes and gathered around the square table. The elders carry vegetables for the younger generation and say some wishes while carrying vegetables. For example, when it comes to eggplant, they will say, I have eaten eggplant, and I will definitely "eggplant" others this year. Similarly, the younger generation can also give vegetarian dishes to their elders and say that they wish grandpa a long and healthy life.
When did the first day of fasting start? I didn't verify it. According to my grandfather, it was handed down from my ancestors.
The food in lent is exquisite.
Vegetarianism is very strict, not all vegetables can be selected. Only eggplant, green tofu, six ginger (mustard head), water celery (a kind of celery grown in paddy fields, with big white roots and edible, is a hometown specialty) and so on. Why only choose these vegetarian dishes? There is a reason for this. It turns out that the word "eggplant" of eggplant means better than others in Hainan dialect. Eating eggplant symbolizes being better than others; The word "Qin" of Oenanthe javanica, the pronunciation of Hainan dialect and the word "Qin" of Mandarin are homophonic. Eating celery symbolizes hard work and getting rich in the new year. Six ginger roots are numerous and white, much like Shouweng's silver whiskers. Hometown people eat six ginger, which means eating with roots and leaves. Eating six ginger represents longevity, and the old man can live to be like a birthday girl with white hair and yellow beard; Tofu can be enjoyed without fiber and teeth. There is also a good wish to eat tofu, that is, to live until the teeth naturally fall out (ancient hometown people think that people live to the longest life without teeth); Bean sprouts are shaped like Shouweng, watercress is like Shouweng's bald head, and a slightly bent beanstalk is like Shouweng's body. Eating bean sprouts also symbolizes longevity.
Busy preparing vegetarian food at the end of the year
At the end of each year, people in my hometown are busy preparing vegetarian food. I remember when I was a child, my mother always bought eggplant a few days in advance and soaked it in water. Although it is cold winter, it is hot in Hainan, and eggplant can still be produced in winter. I often ask my mother why she wants to buy eggplant in advance. My mother says eggplant is a must for vegetarianism, so don't worry about buying it in advance. Otherwise, if the market is short, I will take one or two yuan for an eggplant. My family has a paddy field where celery can be planted. Every year before New Year's Eve, the whole family is busy pulling, washing and selling celery. Picking celery takes a lot of time. You have to pull it out of the paddy field by roots and leaves, then clean it by the river and ditch, and then take it to the market for sale. When eating, you should also remove the small hair roots of Oenanthe javanica and leave the big white roots to eat.
Vegetables should be fried on New Year's Eve.
Vegetable oil must be used when frying vegetarian dishes. In ancient times, after the vegetarian dishes were fried, they were served at the table of the Eight Immortals in the main hall to pay homage to their ancestors. Fasting didn't begin until the first morning. I remember when I was young, I used to stand in front of the fire. As soon as the vegetarian food is ready, I will eat it first. Father often fried celery in two ways, one with salt and the other with sugar, which is a little sweet. I like sweets best.
In my hometown, eating vegetarian food on the first day of the new year has a long history and profound cultural connotation. It not only has the charm of Chinese New Year custom, but also is a scientific diet custom. Because all New Year's Eve dinners are big fish and big meat, eating too much meat makes people feel greasy. I don't eat meat in the first day, but I am a vegetarian, which relieves people's greasy feeling to some extent. Eating fish after the next day will be more fragrant and beautiful. From the perspective of scientific diet, this custom of eating new year's goods is the best way to eat Chinese New Year. No wonder the first day fasting has been circulating since ancient times.
Related reading: the implication of vegetarianism in Hainan
People in Hainan should eat vegetarian dishes, because fasting on the first day of the new year is a necessity for families in most places in Hainan. So, do you know the meaning of ingredients used in vegetarian dishes?
Nostoc flagelliforme means to make a fortune, and the financial resources are rolling day by day.
Beets are sweet and have a happy life.
Oenanthe cress, hardworking and willing to work, makes people sleepy and never dies.
Green garlic, can say and calculate, will not suffer.
Qiaotou, Qiaotou and Hainan dialect are homophonic, meaning stronger and more powerful than others. There is also an article saying that it is eggplant, which should be a clerical error. There is no eggplant in the vegetable pot, and Hainan people seldom eat eggplant during the New Year.
Sagittarius, Hainan dialect means to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
Spine powder, a kind of vermicelli. It means that water always flows, and the family runs the business.
Lily, day lily Hainan is called lily, which means rich and has a solid family background.
Auricularia auricula is called cat ear in Hainan dialect. As the saying goes, cats with ears (wrinkled ears) listen to their mother tongue. Teach filial piety.
Sweet bamboo, a kind of yuba, means a hundred feet of pole head goes further.
Dried soybeans, strips, yellow. It means gold bars, and having goods in hand is the last word.
Peanut, long fruit, I wish my family health and longevity.
In the eyes of Hainan people, all folk customs are artificially created according to people's will and will. Therefore, in Hainan dialect, all folk behaviors begin with the word "do", such as doing Qingming and working as a wife (that is, getting married), while northerners "celebrate the New Year" and Hainan dialect calls it "do the Year". It should be noted that "Chinese New Year" means "Chinese New Year", that is, celebrating the Spring Festival. In the north, New Year is celebrated, while in Hainan, it is called "New Year". However, in the rural areas of Hainan, the "New Year" of that year was not "over".
As the saying goes in Hainan, "Year is afraid of Mid-Autumn Festival, month is afraid of 15th". As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival is over, the countryside is preparing for the "New Year": castrating cocks, filling fat ducks, keeping domestic pigs in captivity and preparing lucky money. As soon as we enter the end of December of the lunar calendar, the atmosphere of "Chinese New Year" is getting stronger and stronger!
The first one is1February 24, when "bordeaux" was released. Legend has it that "Duke Zao" is a god sent by the Jade Emperor to supervise good and evil, and he reports to the Jade Emperor on this day every year. To this end, every household should use bamboo sticks or bamboo branches to clean the front and back of the house, inside and outside the house, and the incense burner should be cleaned and replaced with new ashes. In the evening, wine and fruit were prepared as sacrifices to see "bordeaux" off.
As soon as "bordeaux" was delivered, the head of the family was busy "going to the market". In the past, the "city" of villages and towns was 365 days a year, and it was only a few days ago that they made a fortune! Sell Three Birds, Gold and Silver Incense Candles, Beijing Fructose Cake, "Doll Painting" (New Year Pictures), "Wang Le Plaster" (that is, wandering around the rivers and lakes), bowls, chopsticks, pottery pots, "Chinese New Year oranges", all kinds of clothes ... buy them when they are sold, pork, dried vegetables and wet vegetables (fast food farmers carry the burden and push the new year's goods with their cars. They took out all their hard-earned money for a year! These days have produced a year of energy consumption!
The acquaintances of the "French Year City" met and asked each other: "Second brother! Is the' castrated chicken' (that is, the castrated cock) obese? " "Three sister-in-law! Was there a' capon' in those days? " "Three old ladies! Do children who work in your home (that is, your home) want to come back for the New Year? " "Two male! Do you have an annual review in Nanyang (referring to the New Year letter sent back by relatives in Nanyang)? "
People are full of the joy of "New Year". They paste the bought New Year pictures in the living room, put couplets on the lintels, and some people paste "profit-making" red paper on furniture and fruit trees. A few days ago, every household was busy soaking glutinous rice, grinding rice pulp and making rice cakes, while Wenchang and other places were busy making rice candy and peanut candy (these rice cakes were made a lot, both for personal use and for gifts, and they were usually eaten until the end of the month).
At this time, all the dignitaries, literati, peddlers, drivers, grandfathers, and cash-strapped people who worked in large, medium and small cities returned to their hometown of birth and growth. ...
There is a two-part allegorical saying in Hainan, "Thirty nights-the anvil can't be idle". Because in Hainan, no matter how poor people are, they have to kill chickens and ducks by borrowing money and rice on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month. Seven bowls of braised pork, trotters, meat dishes and vegetarian dishes were placed on the Eight Immortals table in front of the incense burner, and firecrackers were set off after the ancestor worship ceremony. When the food is cold enough, they will take it down and eat New Year's Eve around the stove. On New Year's Eve, men, women and children put on new clothes after bathing, which means to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Even in the era of tickets, kerosene is usually saved. From the evening of the 30th, the lights were on in the room, and the family had lights all day and night, which lasted for several days until the next morning. Commonly known as "lighting a lamp", it means "adding Ding to make a fortune". On New Year's Eve, many people stayed up all night until the first day of the Lunar New Year. At this time, according to the time, every household is rushing to pay New Year greetings, which means "Spring Festival". Then the younger generation kowtows, salutes and congratulates the elders, and the elders give them "lucky money".
On the morning of the first day, people, old and young, have to get up and eat "fast food" (that is, clean and white to commemorate their ancestors). "Vegetarianism" is not only similar to Muslim halal food, but also just like northerners must eat fish (for more than one year) during the New Year. What they eat must have auspicious meanings, including fried eggplant (which means eggplant is getting better every year in Hainan dialect), fried celery (which is homophonic with "Qin" and "hard work", I hope the whole family will work hard in the new year) and long fans (which means to live).
There are many taboos in Chinese New Year: you can't carry water (you should fill the water tank on New Year's Eve), you can't sweep the floor (even if firecrackers and scraps of paper are scattered all over the floor, you can't sweep away the "God of Wealth"), you can't scold each other, you can't fight, you can't break utensils (meaning "harmony"), and you must say good wishes for the New Year when you meet. ...
The customs of New Year greetings vary from place to place in Hainan. In some places, New Year's greetings are celebrated on the second day of the first year, but they are tasteless on the fourth day of the third year. In some places, people can't pay New Year greetings at home on the first day. In New Year's greetings, oranges or orange leaves are usually added to the gifts to express "good luck this year".
The next day, the married daughter took her husband and children back to her family to pay a New Year call. If she goes back to her mother's house to celebrate the New Year in the first year of marriage, she will bring her own firecrackers and show her a string of firecrackers in front of the door. A daughter and son-in-law pays a New Year call to her parents-in-law, which is the most solemn New Year call. On this day, the rest of the family (especially the elders) should stay at home and accept their congratulations. Parents-in-law should prepare a sumptuous banquet. When the daughter and son-in-law leave in the afternoon, they should give their daughter candy and rice cakes wrapped in red paper as "welcome".
On the third day of the third year, some places in Hainan are called "fried test", that is, the dry rice, chicken and duck heads and feet specially cooked on New Year's Eve are fried in a frying pan before eating, to show that there is still surplus from last year to this year, which also means that one year has passed.
Haikou people say "fast", in a broad sense, is vegetarian.
The new year is coming, hang red lights and put up couplets. The streets and alleys of Haikou are really lively! Every New Year's Eve, every household in Haikou is busy preparing meals in the kitchen. On the one hand, the chicken, duck and fish on the New Year's Eve are delicious, and on the other hand, mushrooms, black bean sprouts, beets, cress, dried tofu and other dishes are all placed neatly, which is a vegetarian dish prepared for the first day. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is a traditional custom for every household to eat lent.
Tasty zhaicai
At Lao Wang's home in Xinhua South Road, Haikou, every New Year's Eve is a scene of jubilation and excitement. Wang Apo, Lao Wang's wife, said that every year when we are preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner, we will wash the "vegetarian dishes" on New Year's Day and put them in the cupboard. After the New Year's Eve dinner, the younger generation will pay New Year greetings to the elders, and the elders will give the younger generation lucky money. The family will chat over tea and stay up all night. It's called shou sui. Housewives will fry the prepared fast food and put it on a plate to worship God. After the New Year bell rings, the whole family will be busy putting steaming vegetarian dishes on the god table, as well as wine, tea, rice, incense and New Year fruit. Parents will lead everyone to worship God and pray for peace in the coming year. Later, they will worship their ancestors instead. Now, some young people wait for CCTV to ring the bell on the first day of the new year at the Spring Festival Gala broadcast on New Year's Eve, and then begin to pray for the New Year, while others go out to play with friends after dinner. No matter whether the younger generation keeps their birthdays or not, the elders at home will still prepare vegetarian food on the first day of each year. Haikou people don't eat a vegetarian meal in the New Year, just like northerners don't eat jiaozi in the New Year.
Beautiful Haikou
Haikou Zhai Cai Bao is a traditional folk dish in Hainan. Its prototype is a vegetarian dish made of fungi, fruits, vegetables and bean products cooked by Taoism and Buddhism, also called "temple dish". It is said that the folk vegetarian custom in China existed more than 2,000 years ago in the pre-Qin period. When Buddhism was introduced to China, Han monks became vegetarians. Later, the vegetarian dishes in the temple can be matched with high-quality vegetarian dishes. Vegetarian cooking in temples has developed, which is unique in people's diet and life, and has promoted the folk vegetarian customs. Traditional Hainan vegetarian dishes are supplemented by vegetables such as day lily, yuba, vermicelli and beans. The fresh and smooth vermicelli is smooth and tender, the yuba is soft and fragrant, and with the delicate flavor of mushrooms, beans and beets, it can be said that it is fragrant when cooked.
Haikou city liren
The method of making Haikou vegetarian pot is very particular. First, soak dried vegetables such as yuba, vermicelli, day lily, shiitake mushroom and auricularia auricula, rinse them, soak them in boiling water, filter and dry them, then stir-fry them with hot oil and simmer them with slow fire for later use. Wash and cut black bean sprouts, beets, cress, etc. Stir-fry separately and add half flavor; Cut the dried bean curd into long strips, fry it in hot oil until it is yellow, and then add seasoning until it is half-flavored. Then, heat the pot. After the oil is hot, put all the ingredients in, add water, add some soy sauce, monosodium glutamate and sesame oil, and cook thoroughly with low fire. Then put the cooked vegetarian dishes into a casserole at regular intervals according to the color of the raw materials, and cook them with medium heat to eat. This dish is bright in color, smooth and crisp, fragrant in smell, attractive in appetite, and beneficial to physical and mental health if eaten regularly.
Wang Apo said that the biggest feature of vegetarianism is that it does not use animal raw materials, but not all vegetables can use vegetarian raw materials, and even some plant raw materials, such as garlic and pickles, are forbidden. Wang Apo said:
"Every material in vegetarian dishes is the experience left by several generations, which is carefully selected and meaningful."
The raw materials of vegetarian dishes are mostly homophonic, and those with auspicious meanings are selected. Such as beets, meaning sweet and happy life; Oenanthe javanica, which means hard work and diligence, means getting rich through hard work in the new year; Green garlic means that you will say and calculate, and you will not suffer; The word arrow is a homonym of "getting rid of the old" in Hainan dialect, which means to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new; Thorn powder is a kind of vermicelli, which means that water will flow forever and the family will run the business; Lily means day lily, representing wealth and solid family background; Auricularia auricula, also known as auricularia auricula, is called cat's ear in Hainan dialect, which means to listen to the words of elders and be filial; Sweet bamboo is a kind of yuba, which means "bamboo" to go further; Dried soybeans are cut into strips and dyed golden yellow in vegetarian dishes, which means making a fortune; Peanut is a long-lived fruit. I wish my family a long and healthy life.
In fact, the way of eating in Hainan folk families does not pay attention to setting dishes. When eating, add all the ingredients into the casserole and stir to boil. The more cooked, the more fragrant and delicious it is. Fried salted peanuts are served in a small dish with vegetarian dishes. It can also be served with freshly steamed or fried Hainan rice cakes, which is more delicious.
Lao Wang's daughter has a friend named Xiao Feng, who didn't go back to her hometown in the north this Spring Festival and was invited to Lao Wang's home for the New Year. The vegetarian food she ate on the first morning left an unforgettable impression on her. She said that on the morning of New Year's Day, the room was filled with a strong smell of vegetables, and she was invited into the main hall. On the square table of the Eight Immortals, steaming vegetarian dishes and various vegetarian dishes have been set. During the dinner, Wang Apo was served food according to local customs, and some auspicious words were said in her mouth, wishing her health and longevity. A warm, happy, auspicious, harmonious and festive New Year atmosphere is always rippling through the rectification of fasting.
Xiaofeng also said that Haikou people don't need to pack jiaozi for their New Year's Eve dinner like their hometown. According to the Chinese New Year custom in Haikou, the New Year's Eve dinner is very rich, with high-grade delicacies such as chicken, salted duck, mackerel, shrimp and cuttlefish. Everyone felt a little greasy after eating big fish and meat. Eating fast food on the first day of the next day is exactly what everyone wants. She said:
"These vegetarian dishes are really interesting. Every vegetarian dish has a deep meaning and strong cultural customs. Fitr on the first day of the New Year not only adjusts the diet structure of the new year, but also is very beneficial to health. I was attracted by the food culture of fasting on the first day of Hainan New Year's Day. "
Lao Wang's daughter also agrees with the habit of eating vegetarian food on the first day. She said:
"Eating fast food on the first day in Haikou is a Spring Festival custom handed down by ancestors. On the first day, you don't eat meat, so you have to eat quickly, which means that you won't kill anything next year, so it's clean; Eating' fast food' on the ninth day of September will make this day safe and auspicious. "
In recent years, vegetarian dishes have entered the food market because of their health-preserving efficacy and unique taste, and are well received by consumers. There are restaurants specializing in vegetarian dishes in Hong Kong and major cities in China, and the business is very prosperous. Although there is no vegetarian franchise store in Hainan at present, "vegetarian pot" has become a fashionable dish to be promoted in many Chinese restaurants in Haikou. Its production method is based on the traditional folk method in Haikou, and it is slightly improved, so it is called "Hainan vegetarian pot", which has been widely welcomed by diners all over the world.