The Evolution of the Spring Festival
THE Spring Festival, as the traditional festival of the Chinese nation, is a day of reunion, a day of returning to one’s roots, and a day to express familial affection. “During the Spring Festival, people reunite with friends and relatives to strengthen family and ethnic identity, and share our common memories and heritage,” said renowned scholar Hu Zhifeng.
Tradition cannot be wiped out, but with the development of the times, new Spring Festival customs have emerged, adding new color to the ancient festival.
New Tastes of Reunion Dinners
Reunion is the most important theme of the festival. Family members reunite on the lunar New Year’s Eve to get rid of the burdens and concerns of the past year and usher in the new one with high hopes.
Writer Ge Liang recalled the scene of the Spring Festival when he was a child. New Year’s Eve dinner usually was eaten at the home of the elder relatives. The women were busy in the kitchen preparing a rich dinner. Men with good calligraphy wrote New Year scrolls, and reveled in the praises of the people around. Children said auspicious words to and received red envelopes with lucky money from happy grandparents. It can be said that at that time, the festival was centered around a variety of rituals. In these rituals, the Chinese people’s solemn warmth and reverence towards tradition was evident.
This tradition has been preserved to this day. It is not surprising that the Spring Festival homecoming has become the largest annual migration in the world.
In the 1970s and 1980s, dinner was mostly homemade. At that time, the lack of resources led to the couponbased, rationed supply of food like meat and fish. For this relatively rich dinner, people often began setting aside various kinds of tickets a few months in advance.
In the 1990s, with the improvement of living standards, for the New Year, people chose to go to restaurants to have dinner and save a lot of housework. Sometimes, it was hard to find a table in even expensive restaurant due to the high number of diners.
Over the past five years, the lunar New Year’s Eve dinner has acquired new tastes. Ordering food and take-out have become a convenient option. New forms such as on-site service and private custom-made dinners are gradually gaining popularity among the young generation. Some restaurants have also introduced cooked food packages and semi-prepared products. Abundant quantities of fish and meat are no longer favored, as
healthy and green dining concepts are becoming increasingly popular.
As more people returned from traveling abroad, they began to add a foreign taste to the New Year’s Eve dinner. While Zhang Li was traveling in Hokkaido, Japan, he learned the practice of Sukiyaki. After he returned, he showed his skills during the Spring Festival. The whole family sat around the table and looked at him with surprise. “This dish is healthy and delicious, we should learn how to make it!” The family accepted the improvement and innovation of the family reunion dinner.
More Blessing Forms
The Chinese New Year is also the time to relinquish the old and welcome the new. Celebrating the Spring Festival means welcoming new arrivals through worship, staying-up late with loved ones, and lighting firecrackers.
In the impression of Li Fengqun, a