What was it like to celebrate the New Year in Shanghai 20 years ago?

The New Year celebrations in Shanghai in the 1990s can be said to be very lively. Unlike now, the New Year atmosphere is getting weaker and weaker. Because conditions have improved, the fun that could only be enjoyed during the New Year in the past can now be enjoyed on a daily basis.

Take the New Year’s Eve dinner as an example. Nowadays, most hotels in Shanghai are booked in advance, and popular restaurants have to queue up. This is not an exaggeration. On New Year’s Eve, one person eats at 8 o’clock, and then another eats at 9 o’clock. Spot. Modern people are more convenient and no longer prepare for the New Year for a month as before. In addition, the pace of life in Shanghai is too fast, and the New Year is a rare leisure time, and no one wants to be busy anymore.

In the 1990s, Shanghai’s material conditions were not very good. Like most other areas in China, people could only have a good meal during the Chinese New Year, let alone go out to restaurants. Every household has been busy at least a week before New Year's Eve, making fried meatballs, making glutinous rice balls, making bacon and ham... Because many people in Shanghai immigrated from other places, and some families have small populations, neighbors gather together to celebrate New Year's Eve.

At that time, the Oriental Pearl Tower was still the highest landmark. Time flies and does not wait for you and me. I hope everyone’s heart is as young as a young man and as pure as water.

Twenty years ago, the New Year celebrations in Shanghai were much more "Mi Dao" than now. The economic conditions of everyone in "Yi Gechenguang" have generally improved. They have begun to pay attention to food and clothing, and have begun to know how to enjoy themselves. I am about 40 years old this morning. I have started my own business and started a small family. My mother-in-law is in good health and takes care of the housework. During the holidays, she sincerely hopes that "Ala" and her children will come home to celebrate the New Year. I'm here to report the big running account in "Ala"'s house.

Every year when winter comes, the old man will steam dozens of kilograms of glutinous rice to brew rice wine. The rice wine made by my grandfather is clear, slightly sweet, not high in alcohol but full of stamina. During the twelfth lunar month, the old man would go to the market and buy rib meat, cut it into two inches wide and marinate it together with the pork ribs. He would also buy a big rooster weighing ten kilograms. After killing it, leave the hair on, remove the internal organs, and sprinkle it with coarse salt. , Sichuan peppercorns are hung outside the window of the north-facing room and air-dried; of course, the big black herring must be pickled... At the end of the year, they are all taken back and hung in the room, a full pole. I take care of all the cleaning work, from the curtains to the bedsheets, everything is freshened up, and all the pots, pots, dishes, and chopsticks that have not been used for a year are cleaned and set aside. A week before New Year's Eve, we start grinding glutinous rice flour, draining it, and preparing ingredients for making glutinous rice balls. In the early morning light, you still need to fry melon seeds and fried longevity fruits. In the 1990s, you no longer need to go to the supermarket to buy them. The snacks of melons and fruits have obviously improved their quality. Meatballs and egg dumplings must be my mother’s specialty.

I always stay at around 8 o'clock in the morning and take my wife and daughter back to my parents' home. In this morning light, my father is usually preparing sacrifices, my mother is making glutinous rice balls, and Ala and his wife respectfully call my mother and father and wish "Ila" a happy new year. My daughter would run to my mother and call her "good father-in-law, good mother-in-law" happily. My parents agreed while taking out the red envelope and stuffing it into my granddaughter's hand. After thanking her, my daughter would "hand over the red envelope to her mother-in-law" "My wife thanked me again before putting it away. My wife, who is very good at making dumplings and wontons, made dumplings and wontons with "Grandma". I was reincarnated as a "hungry evil spirit and greedy evil spirit", so I first went to get a small bowl to eat water bamboo shoots, roasted meat and grilled meat. After eating well, take a cigarette to the old man. The two of them eat cigarettes, visit the mountains and lakes, and have sex. My brother took his smiling niece outside to set off some small firecrackers to "have fun" first.

At 10 o'clock, the men of the same family will worship their ancestors. The tributes include whole fish, braised pork, soy products, vegetables and fruits, as well as rice wine and rice (I have never understood: I have always wondered why rice wine is used for tribute wine instead of homemade rice wine, and I have never dared to ask. I am still confused.) The old man lit the incense, poured the wine, and the memorial ceremony officially began. He dozed off and knelt down in the morning light, muttering something to the effect of wishing the family health, smooth work, and academic progress. The room filled with smoke really seemed like a fairyland.

For lunch, I ate a few wontons, one each of fresh meat, shepherd’s purse, shredded radish, and sesame and black rice dumplings. I was full. The home-made water-milled flour was delicious. De Xin, Nuo is Nuo De Xin, so good, so good.

After lunch, it’s time to prepare the dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner. The cold pot is cooked, steamed and boiled by the old man on New Year's Eve. More than a dozen cold basins include: fried fish, fried shrimps in oil, salted fish and bacon, soy duck-style chicken, white cut belly, door cavity, salted beef, peanuts with moss strips, sesame oil cucumber, dried cress, and four-way grilled Fuli I took a look at the dried tangerine peel and it tasted quite "cheesy". I was the one who made the last bowl of preserved eggs. I heated the preserved eggs, peeled them open, bit one end of the long "foreign thread" into my mouth, pinched the other end in my hand, and gently Just pull it out and you can place it in the bowl. Add salted eggs to make it a double dish.

At around 4 o'clock, my sister and brother laid out the round table, served all the cold basins, and placed a large pot of steaming bamboo shoots and braised pork in the middle. The old woman brought out the drinks, and the old man brought out the rice wine. , the whole family starts eating.

At 5 o'clock, I got up and turned on the stove, steaming or stir-frying. In an hour, I had to make several hot stir-fries. The order of serving was: stir-fried shrimps, sweet and sour yellow croaker, and sea cucumbers. Winter bamboo shoots, shredded eels fried in soy sauce, green pepper tendons, fresh clams and chicken head rice, fried mushrooms, green vegetables, and steamed eight-treasure rice were brought to the table. They were all included in the "family portrait" and everyone was happy and wanted to eat them.

We are leaving at 6:30. Before leaving, my wife will take out two red envelopes and wish my mother and father good health and all the best. Grandma and grandpa sent her out in person, reluctant to part with her. There is nothing we can do, there is really nothing we can do: My father-in-law and uncle are waiting, and we have to start eating on time at 7 o'clock.

Before 12 o'clock, I will definitely go back to the room and put away Gaosheng and Ye Mingzhu. My daughter will soon be sleepy. A red envelope is placed under Yi Chen's head to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the new year.

Shanghai people celebrate the New Year, and some sophisticated people also pay New Year greetings on the first day of the lunar month, visit relatives on the second day of the lunar month, welcome the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the lunar month, eat Yuanxiao glutinous rice balls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, and have children guess "Mi Mi Zi" and pull rabbits. Lanterns are the only way to truly celebrate the New Year.

Twenty years ago, my grandparents were still there, and my parents had 5-6 brothers and sisters. The whole family gathered at the old man’s house to celebrate the New Year, and it was very lively with 20 or 30 people. Get together at least three times a year. Nowadays, most of the elderly are gone, and brothers and sisters can only get together once, and everyone may not be there

The Chinese New Year in Shanghai in the 1990s can be said to be very lively, but unlike now, the New Year's flavor is getting weaker and weaker, because When the conditions are good, the fun that could only be enjoyed during the Chinese New Year can now be enjoyed on a daily basis.

Take the New Year’s Eve dinner as an example. Some Shanghai families book hotels in advance, and even popular restaurants have to queue up. This is not an exaggeration. On New Year’s Eve, one person eats at 8 o’clock, and then another eats at 9 o’clock. Spot. Modern people are more convenient and no longer prepare for the New Year for a month as before. In addition, the pace of life in Shanghai is too fast, and the New Year is a rare leisure time, and no one wants to be busy anymore.

There are also some families whose material conditions are not very good. Like most areas in China, they can only have a good meal during the New Year, let alone eat out. Every household has been busy at least a week before New Year's Eve, making fried meatballs, making glutinous rice balls, making bacon and ham... Because many people in Shanghai immigrated from other places, and some families have small populations, neighbors gather together to celebrate New Year's Eve.

At that time, the Oriental Pearl Tower was still the highest landmark. Time flies and does not wait for you and me. I hope everyone’s heart is as young as a young man and as pure as water.