rebirth, romance, space

Chapter 96 The Lantern Festival

It began to drizzle from the morning of the first day of the new year. There is a saying in the village that if it rains from the first day to the eighth day of the new year, it will rain during the Lantern Festival in the neighboring village, and it will rain during the 17th Lantern Festival in our village. It won't rain.The same goes for neighboring villages.

As for why each village has a specific day to celebrate the Lantern Festival, no one seems to remember when it started to be like this in each village.It’s just that on the special Lantern Festival in my own village, I worked together to carry out the gods and Buddhas that have been worshiped for a year, beat gongs and drums, and go to every household in the village, and every household would kill chickens to return the gods.Pray for good weather and prosperity for people and animals in the coming year; invite relatives and friends to have a feast at home to enhance feelings.

I still heard vaguely from the old people in the village that the Tianshen Temple in our village is enshrined in "Journey to the West", the Pleiades star officer who has collected centipedes. He is one of the 28 mansions and lives in the light of the sky. Gong, the truth is a big rooster six or seven feet tall.The priesthood is "Morning and Dawn", and his mother is Pilanpo Bodhisattva.

So a long time ago, the people in the village, who are connected with gods and Buddhas, invited the Pleiades Star Officer to sit at the foot of Qinpo Ridge, and also invited his mother along the way, but her mother and the temple of the land god are in the village. In the center of the paddy field, below the reservoir.During Chinese New Year and festivals, people in the village carry their burdens and offerings to pay homage to Pilanpo Bodhisattva and the Lord of the Land first, then go to the Tianshen Temple, then to the ancestral hall of their family members, and finally to the Kitchen God at home.

As for the specific Lantern Festival, people who are versed in gods and Buddhas are invited to communicate with the Pleiades Star Officials on the selected day.On the night before the Lantern Festival, there are temple zhu and believers who are selected in the village every year. They hold torches and beat gongs and drums to carry the Bodhisattva to clear away the "dirty things" in the village, and the villagers will offer offerings.On the day of the Lantern Festival, Bodhisattva Pilanpo and Tudigong will also be carried out to celebrate with the people.

As for the offerings for the imperial edict, they are the fattest three-yellow chickens raised in the family. The three-yellow chickens are also very particular about how they are placed on the altar.So there is also a little trick when cooking chicken. Put a handful of salt on the chicken head so that the cooked chicken head will not be biased.When placing the chicken in the offering basin, put the chicken in the middle, put a seasonal cauliflower in the chicken's mouth, the flower of cabbage heart or snow pea is fine, and put a whole piece of cooked pork belly and chicken giblets behind the chicken.Behind the offering basin are six teas and nine wines, six bowls of cut tofu, six bowls of boiled noodles and six bowls of white rice.The last thing is the radish pieces used to insert incense and the mat for kowtow.

Anyway, the day of Lantern Festival is very, very busy. No matter men, women, young or old, the family is busy with making offerings early in the morning, and then busy with banquets for relatives and friends at night.But this day is still very worthwhile for children to be happy. It’s okay to have fun and festivities everywhere in the village. The most important thing is that you can bring red envelopes from relatives and friends at home.

But the second day of the Lantern Festival is when the real guests leave for tea. The whole village is in a mess, but hygiene is still not possible.Because the "dirty things" collected by the edict of the previous night and the edict of yesterday were to be burned, those "dirty things" were all sealed in a paper boat.The boat is completely made of paper and bamboo, but the style is gorgeous and bright. It is made of five-color Ming paper and paste. It is very strong, and it is completely fine even if it is lifted up and down during the Lantern Festival.Although the distribution of the village is relatively even, and it has been well planned by the state in recent years, it is still a rural area, so there will still be some difficult roads.After burning the paper boats and those torches, every household can clean and sanitate.

In my opinion, posting an edict is like a county lord going on a tour on TV, except that he is carrying a Bodhisattva.The county lord has a lot of equipment, and there are also a lot when he puts out the imperial edict.Even more hilarious.The children in the village who carried the flags and opened the way in front were five people who carried drums and gongs, and six who carried plaques, fans, and curtains, plus four people who carried the Pleiades and Sun Star Officials, as well as Bodhisattva Bodhisattva and the land. The two of the public, and finally Miao Zhu holding the allegro and Gui followed by asking the gods and Buddhas.Anyway, it is as lively as it needs to be.

I still remember that in my previous life, although I didn’t like Chinese New Year, I was still very happy on the Lantern Festival, because in the big square outside the temple gate, puppet shows were sung during the day, projections were put on at night, and people from neighboring villages and People who come early to set up a stall to do fruit business.There are also various small toy vendors.Even if you don’t have the money to buy it, it’s fun to go shopping, and you can temporarily forget the sadness of your parents not coming back for the New Year, and pass the embarrassment of not doing Lantern Festival at home.

After I grow up, I will do business with my parents, and it is impossible to have a holiday from the 26th of the year to the end of the Lantern Festival in all villages, because the Lantern Festival in all villages in the town will not be over until the 21st of the first month. One month's time, whether it is human or financial resources, is not enough.There are relatives in every village, and they have to communicate with each other, but buying fruit as a gift and giving red envelopes to children cost money. Of course, the most expensive thing is to make the Lantern Festival at home.It is not enough to set up a table or two.The most will go to twenty or thirty tables.It's a struggle to have a wedding with others.

This year, is my happiest New Year's Eve.Because I finally don't have to worry about money when I was young, worry about the tuition fees for the start of school, and worry about the embarrassment of my family.Although the family is not the wealthiest in the village, they are well-fed and well-fed at last, and the old and the young can depend on each other, so there is no need to feel sad about parting.Of course, I am happier to have Qin Rong, because she is the only one who will still be by my side even when I grow up.

Maybe it's selfish of me to think like this, but the loneliness that has been bothering me from the bottom of my heart has finally disappeared because of Qin Rong's appearance.

(PS: This chapter is a transition, and the following is a big turning point in the fate of the heroine. Because childhood has always had a great influence on the heroine, so there will be a follow-up story. Let me look forward to the heroine's change due to rebirth Have a different life. Hehe)
(End of this chapter)