Suzhou-Hangzhou New Year's Customs

Small cold", said the degree of cold, literally understand, cold cold cold in small cold, but in the meteorological records, small cold is colder than the big cold, can be said to be the year twenty-four seasons in the coldest seasons. Since ancient times, there is a "three nine make up a winter, the next year without disease," the saying, in the winter season should be supplemented with food, medicine, combined with warm tonic is appropriate.

Lapa congee

Suzhou people have the habit of eating "Lapa congee" on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Legend has it that in the West Garden Temple of Suzhou, a Buddha statue with a big belly, smiling and carrying a red bag, people call him Monk Bubai, and legend has it that he is the founder of "Lapa congee". A long time ago, he came to Suzhou West Park, every day in the Lenten Hall, found that there are food was thrown down, have to pick up and put into the bag, three years he collected a lot of food. That year the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, is the day of Buddha Shakyamuni's attainment of enlightenment, the West Garden held a ceremony. The monk who manages the money and food on the main hall chanting sutra, forget to open the warehouse to get rice. The monk had no rice to cook, so he took all kinds of grain and cooked porridge. It was almost noon, the monk in charge of money and food remembered that he had forgotten to open the storehouse to get rice, and knew that he had made a big mistake and would inevitably be subjected to the ruler. When he rushed to the kitchen, only to see the big pots and small pots are steaming, lifting the lid of the pot a smell coming from the nose, a taste taste really good, then he just breathed a sigh of relief. In the time of fasting, he told a story to the big and small monks: "Today is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, we all know is the day of the Buddha's attainment of Taoism, Buddha became a Taoist before, in order to seek the true meaning of the world, traveled to the famous mountains and rivers. One day he came to India's Nilian River, fainted on the ground, a shepherdess saw, will feed their lunch to the Buddha to eat. The shepherdess's lunch was a porridge made from a mixture of various grains called Eight Treasures Porridge. The Buddha ate the porridge, sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree, and suddenly became enlightened and became a Buddha." This eight-treasure porridge, which I have also prepared for the masters today, invites the masters to have a fast. The Venerable Master in charge praised him. This praise became a rule of the Buddha's school, and this continued year after year. Because this porridge is eaten on the eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar every year, the layman called it "Laha congee".

"Wu County" is also recorded: "Eight treasures porridge glutinous rice mixed with fruit porridge, eight treasures porridge, December 8, monks and nuns to eight treasures porridge feed Road, Tan Yue (that is, the layman) day Laha porridge."

"Send stove" to eat dumplings

December 24 of the lunar calendar, there is a folk custom, that is, "to send stove." Send stove" is to send the God of the stove. The god of the stove is also called Zaojun, Zao Wang, Suzhou people call him "Zaojie Laozi". The Zaoshen is responsible for the welfare of a household. According to folklore, Zaoshen goes up to heaven once a year to report to the Jade Emperor on the good and bad of his household. To send Zaos to the Jade Emperor is to give him a goodbye when he goes up to heaven to "report his duties". After sending the god of the stove, you can slaughter livestock and poultry without fear and get busy for the New Year. The time of sending the god of the stove is at the end of the lunar month, so it has become an important part of the New Year's custom.

Suzhou folk send stove, there are "official three people four", that is, the official twenty-three days, the people twenty-four days to send stove, so not the official not the people are classified as "not three". This has also become a mantra for Suzhou people to scold those who are not quite like people. Over these two days to send stove are fireworks hall, because the twenty-third and twenty-fourth day to receive customers, no time to send stove. By the 25th, people are busy with New Year's Eve, and only then do they carry out the ceremony of sending the stove. That's why Suzhou people still have a catchphrase, "seven upside down, twenty-five to send the stove." It is a metaphor for not following the rules and messing up the rules. The ceremony of sending the stove is carried out in the evening, and the dinner on that day is "Bean Paste Gan Song Powder Bait Dumplings", which is bean paste soup dumplings. Now there is no earth stove in the residents' homes, and no one sends the god of the stove anymore. But on the 24th day of the waxing moon to eat "soup dumplings" custom is still retained, especially with the elderly family, this day to eat "soup dumplings", but also can be adjusted to the taste and atmosphere it.

The first scholar to give the name of the two fresh Zaizai

Legend has it that, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Wu County, Dongting Dongshan, unprecedentedly out of a literati star, named Shi Cheese. Shi Chao exam in the first section of the first scholar, the Zhengtong Emperor to recruit him as a horse harnessed by the side of a team. However, Mr. Shih's character, who missed his wife Zhang, refused to die, and thus annoyed the emperor. The emperor found fault with him, saying that he was in poor health, and sent him back to his home in Dongshan. Shiju is a tough guy, think this back to his hometown, no shame. Zhang's, see her husband would rather lose his hat, not like the Song Dynasty Chen Shimei, feel more than follow her husband to go to work as an official wife is a thousand times happier. Dongshan people also for their own place out of such a person of high moral character and feel immensely proud. Shi Scholar and his wife Zhang, love and respect each other, can be said to be a hundred things ninety-nine as expected. If so, why not say a hundred things as expected? Originally, there is one thing is not quite satisfactory, which is Shi Scholar good to eat mutton, do not like to eat fish, smell the fishy smell will be regurgitated. Mrs. Zhang's exactly the opposite of her husband, no fish no meal, only hate mutton, smell mutton to be nauseous. Loving couples spend time together, but can not eat together, not to the appetite, how can we do? No way, you have to beat your drum, I play my gong, husband and wife in two stoves, each open their own gang. However, according to the old rules, New Year's holidays, always have to be a family reunion, with the seat **** meal it! In this way, the family had to neither buy fresh fish. Also do not buy mutton. In this way, is not the beauty of a deficiency? Somehow, this pile of not too small thing, all of a sudden was publicized. As a result, one by ten, ten by a hundred, became a household name in Dongshan "kitchen news". Kind people are very concerned about the scholar couple, are trying to find a way to burn fish without fishy flavor, burn mutton without sheep stink to, so that they can be every day with the table **** meal. At that time, Dongshan Qianshan town, there is a name Wang Xiaoyi restaurant owner, because of the silver earned a little, like the old, like the new, with his wife unreasonably, the big quarrel three six nine, small quarrel every day. In the end, the restaurant closed down, the wife took the children back to her mother's home. Wang Xiao Er also gradually became poor. Later, Wang Xiaoyi several times to Shi Scholar's home to help organize banquets, was Shi Scholar's character of the two couples, and finally changed their minds, and his wife reunited. Soon, Wang Xiaoyi and his wife reopened the restaurant, focusing on business, and the day is getting better and better. Therefore, Wang Xiao Er's family regarded Shi Scholar Yuan as a benefactor. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Wang Xiao Er knew about the "kitchen news" of the Scholar's House, and they vowed to make a new name for themselves in cooking fresh fish and mutton. As the saying goes, "You can't beat your heart. Wang Xiaoyi finally burned only meat flavor, no stink of lamb; cooked only fish flavor without fishy fish. He wrote down the cooking method of these two kinds of lei as a formula and sent it to the residence of the scholar. Mr. and Mrs. Scholar burned according to the law, and it really worked. From then on, Mr. and Mrs. Scholar Yuan no longer avoid fresh fish and mutton. Due to Wang Xiaoyi couple burn fish, burn sheep law, delicious flavor, the name to his store to go more and more diners up, business is booming day by day. Soon, Xiao Er's small restaurant became a big restaurant. Shi Scholar in order to thank them, they sent a hand-written gold signboard, called "two fresh fast"." The word "fresh" is a combination of fish and goat, and is used here to convey a deep meaning.

Over the past five hundred years, the two fresh fast has changed owners, the name of the store also changed. However, the technique of cooking fresh fish and mutton has been passed down.