Yuanxiao is also called Tangyuan. Why not call it Tangyuan Festival?

The fifteenth day of the first month. Lantern Festival.

In English, Lantern Festival seems to have become a Lantern Festival. Browse the domestic websites, and you can also see the news and pictures of Lantern Night Market everywhere. It's beautiful and makes me homesick more and more.

In China people's minds, the Lantern Festival is not only a lively and festive Lantern Festival, but also the protagonist Yuanxiao. At home, during the Lantern Festival, I will go to the bakery to buy some freshly made Yuanxiao, such as sesame, osmanthus, cantaloupe and, of course, my favorite taro. Although all family members love to eat, the round Lantern Festival marks the end of this new year. Like it or not, eat a few meanings.

During afternoon tea, Mrs. Wen asked Hei M to make dumplings and bake bean paste cakes with her in the kitchen. Dozens of people, only a few in each mouth, but everyone still eats with relish. Anyway, this festival has passed! (It's strange, too. The practice and content are similar. Why is it called Lantern Festival instead of Tangyuan Festival? ! hoho！ )

Think about it, after this night, the Spring Festival will be over. Apart from the normal Sunday rest, I'm very busy at work these days, and I don't care about how I'm doing, but it's tasteless. The New Year, which I spent outside for the first time in 23 years, did not cause the loss I was worried about years ago because of the change of time and space. Don't be too dull when you are young, you have everything!

. . .

The moon without lights is not entertaining, and the moon without lights is not spring. Lights and the moon, I can't find this Lantern Festival night. At the moment, the factory where the machine is roaring is still brightly lit. Because there is no moon, it is all dark around. But in my heart, tonight is the lantern hanging high and the moonlight is like water.

The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan

Many people think that there is no difference between the two, just different names.

So why isn't the Lantern Festival called Tangyuan Festival?

Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are glutinous rice flour products with different fillings in the middle. Due to the climate difference between the north and the south, the production methods are different. Yuanxiao usually only uses plain and sweet stuffing, cuts the stuffing into small pieces, dips it in water, rolls it up in a basket full of glutinous rice flour, and sprinkles it while curling, so that it is naturally wrapped in glutinous rice flour and rolled into a ball. Tangyuan is made of very fine tangyuan (the stuffing is good and bad). It is usually boiled when eating. After jiaozi cooked, the soup was clear, and after Yuanxiao cooked, the soup was thick. So drinking soup is like drinking glutinous rice porridge. Due to different techniques, jiaozi is not messy after cooking, with smooth skin and good fluidity of stuffing; Yuanxiao is easy to mess up the soup, but the skin is soft, so it can be eaten by frying, pulling, wrapping, steaming and baking.

Yuanxiao and Tangyuan have different processing techniques and tastes. Yuanxiao is made by hand after the stuffing is put away. Glutinous rice flour for Lantern Festival is made by soaking glutinous rice and grinding it with a stone mill. Because wet flour is used, it can only be 80 mesh at most when sieving the reed, which is relatively thick. But the stuffing must be hard, and various fruit materials can be added, so it tastes "biting" and has a strong fruity and rice fragrance. In contrast, glutinous rice balls are packed with water mill dry powder, which is very delicate. Glutinous rice flour can pass through a fine sieve of 200 meshes, more oil can be put in the bag, and there will be no large fruit in the stuffing. It is characterized by soft, smooth and delicate taste, and can be eaten all year round in quick-frozen packaging.

Some time ago, there was an argument between the north and the south. I looked at it and felt bad, so as a northerner, I said a few words to a southerner. This position is based on reconciling contradictions and promoting unity. As a result, it caused a quarrel and was finally locked up. I didn't refuse to accept it. After all, it is understandable for Bambusa to ban such topics in order to promote unity. But later I found that there were many posts.

My post is different from the original intention of the last post. Last time it was to promote unity. Of course, this time I also want to enhance unity and increase understanding, but the main purpose is not this, but to express my dissatisfaction with some southerners.

Last time, the North and the South scolded each other, and both sides were at fault. But this time I saw a post investigating what southerners eat during the Spring Festival, which was full of southerners' denigration of the North. It can be said that there is no responsibility for northerners, because it is only about food. But some southerners insist on introducing the topic to Jiaozi, and then to northerners to attack them. I don't think it's necessary to go easy on such a Renye Fang.

I didn't finish reading that post, but basically many southerners are vilifying jiaozi, while many northerners are basically explaining it.

Many southerners mainly talk about how terrible jiaozi is. I think it's ridiculous for northerners to eat that thing in the New Year. What are you going to say? Want to say that northerners are poor? Can't afford anything but jiaozi? Hehe, I don't think anyone believes this.

I saw some northerners explain that jiaozi is delicious. I don't need an explanation! Because the essence of the problem is not whether jiaozi is delicious or not. We don't eat jiaozi now, because it's delicious. Is it because jiaozi is not delicious that we don't eat jiaozi for the New Year? I don't think many northerners will do this.

To put it bluntly, what does it matter if northerners eat jiaozi and jiaozi are delicious? That's just our custom. It is handed down from generation to generation. We eat jiaozi to show our respect for tradition and our own culture. So it's so vulgar and disgusting to bring this question to Jiaozi. As a result, the person who said this is quite self-righteous.

In fact, isn't the glutinous rice balls eaten in many places in the south the delicious food in the north? Tangyuan is also eaten in the north. It originated in the north. But it seems that in the north, it is generally called Yuanxiao. Eating Yuanxiao is also a custom of ours. Lantern Festival is called Lantern Festival, not Tangyuan Festival, which shows that both Lantern Festival and Lantern Festival have more northern characteristics.

Spring Festival, jiaozi and Lantern Festival all belong to China. We shouldn't distinguish between north and south. This is a universal tradition. But southerners should distinguish clearly. As a result, we found that these things are all from the north.

I understand that many southerners will feel uncomfortable and lost when they see the strength of northern culture. But is this hysteria? As for crazy attacks on northern and northern cultures? I seldom see northerners take the initiative to attack the south. All started from southerners, so we fought. The slander and insult of some southerners to the northern culture not only shows their low level, but also shows their incompetence. They really have nothing else to do.

I admit that at present, the culture of China is basically based on the northern culture. Whether it is film and television works, songs or Mandarin, most of them are branded with obvious northern culture. But is this caused by the arbitrariness of northerners? No, there are historical factors. The north has always been the political and cultural center of China. Should we not consider this factor?

But in fact, I think the biggest reason is that northern culture has more mass base. China is a unified multi-ethnic country. To tell the truth, compared with many areas, it can be said that there are no ethnic contradictions. North-South relations, even ethnic relations, are the internal relations of the Han nationality. So if China wants to coordinate this relationship, should the minority obey the majority? Of course, it is impossible for China and Japan to subordinate the minority to the majority, and the Japanese will not do so, because why should the Japanese accept what you approved in China? But the relationship between North and South is different from that between China and Japan. If China must unify the whole country, should it respect the habits of most China people? For example, Mandarin is based on the northern dialect. That's because the northern dialect has a large population. Similarly, as for jiaozi, the Spring Festival Gala, and many other aspects, it is for this reason. That is, the popular area of northern culture is large and there are many applicable people. Therefore, it is unfair that the northern culture is stronger.

Although the south is a concept relative to the north, it is not exactly the same. The north is basically unified. The main customs and dialects in the north are similar, which can be said to be a complete cultural body. What about the south? They are all southerners, but they have little in common. For example, Fujian people in Hunan, Guangdong people in Shanghai, and Zhejiang people in Sichuan? Therefore, the popularity of any cultural custom in the south is not comparable to that in the north. So what's wrong with popular culture in the north according to the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority?

Southerners may be uncomfortable again. I mean, why does everything have to be the same? North is North, South is South? Of course, not everything is the same now. Many southern regions keep their own habits and speak their own dialects. Did northerners say anything? Why do you have to judge our jiaozi? Perhaps some southerners are more extreme and think that there should be no Mandarin. Then I have nothing to say. According to this logic, Qin Shihuang should not be unified measurement and China. If the problem comes to this, there is nothing to talk about.

There are also southerners who say that there is something wrong with northerners' bloodline, that culture is barbarian culture, and that the south is orthodox China culture, and so on. I don't think the debate is meaningful. Of course, if you want to debate, you need to open another post specially. I also have many reasons to say. But this is not the topic now, and I don't want to say more. I just want to say that the Chinese nation originated from the Yellow River Valley, and China culture also came from the Yellow River Valley. The political and cultural center of China has been in the north since ancient times. These things are written in history textbooks, recognized by the state, and the evidence is conclusive. However, the accusation that the northern culture is not a third-rate article of China culture is probably just grandstanding on the Internet, and there is no need to refute it.

But I don't want to draw the conclusion that today's northern culture is more orthodox. In fact, neither southern culture nor northern culture is ancient China culture, but everyone comes from ancient China culture and has their own development. For example, two people, both sons of his father, are different from his father's, so what is orthodoxy? This is a meaningless proposition. Culture should develop and progress. If the culture of China remains the same as that of ancient times for thousands of years, then China will perish. So cultural development and change is a good thing. It is meaningless to argue about who is the authentic ancient culture of China. Now, because the population of the northern cultural area is much larger than that of other cultural areas, it is normal that the northern culture is more popular.

Finally, we are actually only paying attention to the differences in cultural customs between the north and the south, and then feel that there are great differences. But in fact, apart from some subtle differences, there are many similarities. Both southern culture and northern culture are China culture. Difference is secondary, similarity is primary.