What are the customs of Rizhao Spring Festival in Shandong?

There are different Chinese New Year customs in the north and south of China, which makes the folk culture in China very attractive. Rizhao, Shandong, located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, is the tail wing of Shandong Peninsula. Every Spring Festival, the streets and alleys of Rizhao are filled with the smell of Chinese New Year. Rizhao people have a lot to pay attention to during the Spring Festival, including traditional cooking, dust removal and making various cakes. Besides, how do they spend the Spring Festival in Rizhao?

Send the kitchen god to heaven (December 23 or 24 of the lunar calendar)

Since Laba, the annual flavor of sunshine has become stronger and stronger. From the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, everyone is very busy. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, there will be a speech. Legend has it that Kitchen God, as the head of the family, has been staying at home to protect and supervise the family since last New Year's Eve. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will ascend to heaven to report the achievements of this family for one year to the Jade Emperor in heaven.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household packs jiaozi. When they leave the kitchen, they usually offer the cooked jiaozi to the Kitchen God on the kitchen table, and then they can have dinner. Some people also like to put some snacks and sweets on the stove and give them to the chef. After praying for the kitchen god to enjoy the delicious food, "God speaks well and is lucky in the next world."

dust

The 24 th cleaning of the twelfth lunar month is the most serious and thorough cleaning in a year, which is usually done by the whole family. First, move all the furniture into the yard and clean it thoroughly. Then use a broom to clean the dust and cobwebs on the roof and walls, and even the glass and windowsill should be carefully cleaned. The pots and pans at home are also wiped clean.

In recent years, many people don't want to do their own cleaning, for fear that their cleaning will not be thorough. More and more people began to choose to find housekeeping companies to clean, especially those who live in buildings prefer to find cleaners to clean windows and range hoods.

Make tofu

On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, make tofu. The tofu in Rizhao is delicious, and many people living in other places feel this way in interviews. Rizhao water is good, and Rizhao's bean products are also very delicate. For many people, the custom of making tofu still exists, because tofu represents "happiness". Some people like to freeze some tofu and keep it for the first month. Stewed tofu with cabbage and pork is the most common dish on the table in January.

To make tofu, you should first choose the right soybeans to soak, then grind them into bean juice, then cook the bean juice in a pot, then add a proper amount of brine, stir them evenly, and then squeeze them in a sieve. Generally, making tofu requires the participation of the whole family. One person lights the fire, and one person is responsible for lighting the brine. Especially when tofu is suppressed, the whole family needs to mobilize. Making tofu is also a science. How much halogen to order, whether it is a big fire or a small fire, is very particular.

Steamed cakes, rice cakes, hairy balls

For Rizhao people, the annual meeting lasts until the 16th day of the first month, so after the off-year holiday, we should prepare more cakes for the first month. So from the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, steamed cakes will be started. Rizhao people like the round feeling, so the cakes steamed from white flour are also big. "My family usually steamed a catty of noodles. In previous years, it was 7 kilograms of noodles and steamed 7 cakes. " Ms. Yin, a citizen, said that this year's family still follows the old standards.

Many people also like steamed rice cakes, which are homophonic "rice cakes" and taste sweet, especially popular with children at home. The rice cake is not only yellow, but also white, which means gold and silver. Jujube hill is also a traditional food with sunshine characteristics. Through the embellishment of dates, the original monotonous pasta has formed the image of "mountain", which also means that life will be more and more prosperous in the new year.

And dough, as the special pasta in Rizhao, are deeply loved by local residents in Rizhao. Ordinary pasta is made of white flour, while hairy balls are made of rice ground into flour. The hair balls made are white and bright, and they taste strong. At the same time, the name of the delegation itself also represents wealth and reunion.