Despite all the changes that have taken place in the lifestyle of the Chinese people, the Spring Festival remains an important event on the year calendar. The traditional Chinese New Year revelry has inspired numerous modern Chinese writers in their literary creations.

In traditional Chinese culture, the Spring Festival is the biggest event in a lunar Chinese year. The home-spun revelry of the townspeople in Shimen, Tongxiang, where Feng Zikai (1898-1975), one of the most gifted and important artists to emerge from the politically tumultuous decades of the 1920s and 1930s of China, was born and raised, constituted an eternal part in the man’s childhood memory, as is vividly depicted in two of the writer-artist’s essays. In the eye of a young Feng Zikai, the New Year routine of inviting the workers at the Feng Tong Yu Dye house, a family business created by the great grandfather of Feng Zikai, to join the family’s New Year feast, was the best education from his mother about love. His mother would always kindly saw to it that the table was arranged impeccably so that there was nothing to offend the superstitious beliefs of the three dyeing masters from Shaoxing.

In many places in the Jiangnan region of China, the New Year celebration officially starts from the eighth day of the 12th lunar month of the year. The tradition is slightly different in Feng Zikai’s hometown, where celebration begins on the 23rd of lunar December, when the tradition called  is practiced by every household to worship the Kitchen God.

The hilarious jollification of  is also mentioned by Lu Xun (1881-1936) in one of his essays, in which the writer reminisced about the special candy peddled on the street and made with the intention of sticking in the teeth of the Kitchen God so that he would have trouble badmouthing the family to the Jade Emperor.

In another essay about his New Year memory from childhood, Lu Xun also revealed how the family had to “keep it simple and basic” after the family had come down in the world.

Like many other places in southern China, it is also a New Year routine in the hometown of Feng Zikai to make  (the New Year glutinous rice cake), symbolically meaning a thriving new year to come in the Chinese language. The Feng’s family tradition makes a big deal of the time-consuming task by calling in an experienced helper to make sure the work was done properly. Feng Zikai’s mother and sisters would help with other chores such as decorating the house.

In his essay , Feng Zikai described the vividness of worshiping the “Bodhisattva of the Big Year”: “…The grand ceremony is routinely practiced at night after the New Year banquet is finished…My family is fastidious about the tradition, and the most interesting part of the elaborate ritual is to set up a tea table to worship the ‘lesser Bodhisattvas’, which feels like playing house…”

“Aside from the more serious New Year ‘clichés’ such as worshiping ancestors and the New Year feast, for children the best part of the whole thing are the various side events such as sneaking out and enjoying some spicy street snacks with friends…”

It is a standard procedure in western Zhejiang regions to go burning incense at temples on the first day of the lunar New Year, for the blessings of gods. Children and fools speak the truth, but people in western Zhejiang have their own magic way to counteract – using toilet paper to wipe the mouth of a child so that gods would not take the offense from the “truth” too seriously.

Theoretically the New Year begins at the midnight, but habitually the wee hours still belong to the old year. In one of his essays, Feng Zikai recalled:

“…We used to sneak out and hang out together, frolicking and window shopping. The shops would still be open, and watching the bustle of the crowds was fun…The devotees were already seen on their way to the temples…There were heaps of atmosphere and we just ran wild till everyone got hungry and desperate to go home for a New Year breakfast, after which we fell into a profound sleep and dreamt about a happier tomorrow…”

The New Year festivity among the old-timers in the Jiangnan regions can also be relished in the writing of Zhou Zuoren (1885-1967), who cited various literary references in his to introduce the boisterous New Year activities in Suzhou. And, Lu Xun shared his fond memory about all the “New Year protocols” set by the baby-sitter of the family to remind the children of the importance of behaving themselves.

According to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, Chinese New Year celebrations begin with the New Moon and end on the Full Moon, which is from the first day to the 15th day of the first month in a new year. The last day (the 15th day of the first lunar month) of the New Year celebration is known as the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is the finale of the New Year fun-making spree. In the Lantern Festival, Shi Zhecun (1905-2003), Hangzhou-born writer, recalled how children enjoyed the carnival and took a more romantic approach by mentioning the puppy love with a girl.

“I fell for her. She invited me to enjoy sweet dumplings together and I went to her home to see the lantern she made. We parted ways after dinner, and I went home with a lantern in my hand…”

In the Lantern Festival is recounted by Feng Zikai as the enlightenment education about aesthetics. “The lanterns lured me into the wonderland of artistic creation,” the writer recalled. The moment a young Feng Zikai saw the parasol his parents had kept as a family heirloom in a backdrop of glistening lanterns was indelible in his memory.

        尽管我们生活的时代不同，生活的方式会有差异，年节的习俗会有变化，但过节时的欢乐与期待应该是一致的。让我们来看一下现代江南作家笔下的年味吧。

        传统节日中，春节是最大的节日。童年在老家浙江桐乡石门镇过的春节，给丰子恺留下了深刻的印象。他在《新年怀旧》和《过年》两篇随笔中，都详细描述了童年时过春节的热闹情况。

        请丰同裕染坊里的伙计吃年酒，似乎是丰家过年的“序幕”。染坊里的三个染匠司务是绍兴人，按惯例，农历十二月十六日动身回乡过年。十五日，染坊里提早办一桌年酒为他们送行。染坊习俗，年酒席上一只全鸡的摆法大有讲究：鸡头向着谁，谁就要被辞退。丰同裕里染坊里都是老伙计，不需要辞退谁，故丰子恺母亲非常小心，上菜时总要关照仆人，必须把鸡头向着空位。这也是童年丰子恺从母亲这里接受的“爱的教育”。

过年从什么时候开始

        不少地方过年是从吃腊八粥开始的。不过石门镇一带不吃腊八粥。过年往往从腊月廿三晚上送灶开始。丰子恺在《过年》中写了丰家送灶的情景。在江南民间，灶君是一位具有喜剧色彩的神。江南人游戏鬼神的天性在对待灶君时发挥得淋漓尽致。灶君是玉皇大帝派驻每家每户监视善恶言行的。人们既供奉他，又善意地戏弄他。送灶时给灶君吃赤豆糯米饭，甚至拿一点糖塌饼来粘在他嘴上，就是要粘住他的嘴巴，免得他在玉皇大帝面前多嘴多舌讲主人家的坏话。

        鲁迅在《送灶日漫笔》一文中说：“灶君升天的那日，街上还卖着一种糖，有柑子那么大小，在我们那里也有这东西，然而扁的，像一个厚厚的小烙饼。那就是所谓‘胶牙饧’了。本意是在请灶君吃了，粘住他的牙，使他不能调嘴学舌，对玉帝说坏话。”

        鲁迅另有诗《庚子送灶即事》曰：“只鸡胶牙糖，典衣供瓣香。家中无长物，岂独少黄羊。”

        “黄羊”典出《后汉书·阴识传》：“宣帝时，阴子方者至孝有仁恩。腊日晨炊，而灶神形见，子方再拜受庆；家有黄羊，因以祀之。自是巳后，暴至巨富。至识三世，而遂繁昌，故后常以腊日祀灶而荐黄羊焉。”从诗句“典衣供瓣香”来推断，周家家道中落，连按俗祭灶都要典当，自然无法增添厚礼“黄羊”了。

        在丰子恺的老家石门一带，准备过年时的一件大事便是“打年糕”。“糕”与“高”谐音，吃年糕意味着“芝麻开花节节高”，日子一年比一年过得好。“打年糕”是一件比较麻烦的事，所以往往是几家人合伙一起“打”。丰家却是自家单独请人来打的：

        这糯米年糕又大又韧，自己不会打，必须请一个男工来帮忙。这男工大都是陆阿二，又名五阿二……两枕“当家年糕”，约有三尺长；此外许多较小的年糕，有两尺长的，有一尺长的；还有红糖年糕，白糖年糕，此外是元宝、百合、橘子等小摆设，这些都是由母亲和姐姐们去做。

        江南习俗，腊月廿七夜祭“年菩萨”，除夕夜祭祖。丰家也是廿七夜祭“年菩萨”的。丰子恺在《过年》中写道：

        廿七夜过年，是个盛典。白天忙着烧祭品：猪头、全鸡、大鱼、大肉，都是装大盘子的。吃过夜饭之后，把两张八仙桌接起来，上面供设“六神牌”，前面围着大红桌围，摆着巨大的锡制的香炉蜡台。桌上供着许多祭品，两旁围着年糕……这六神牌画得非常精美，一共六版，每版上画好几个菩萨，佛、观音、玉皇大帝、孔子、文昌帝君、魁星……都包括在内。

        “江南多淫祭”。所谓“年菩萨”，儒道释都包括在内。反正就祭这么一桌，把这些“年菩萨”都供全了，广结善缘，何乐而不为？童年丰子恺感兴趣的是家里还要祭“小年菩萨”。在大桌旁设两张接长的茶几，供一位小年菩萨，用小香炉蜡台，设小盆祭品，竟像是小人国里过年。

        廿七夜大人们忙着祭“年菩萨”，少儿们忙于放花炮。年前年后，少儿们的零花钱大都用于买花炮了。丰子恺和他的小伙伴们感兴趣的是“雪炮、流星、金转银盘、水老鼠、万花筒等好看的花炮”。

        除夕夜，自然要祭祖和吃年夜饭。童年丰子恺对这些习俗兴趣不大。他在《新年怀旧》中写道：“大年夜的夜饭，我故意不吃饱。留些肚皮，用以享受夜间游乐中的小食，半夜里的暖锅，和后半夜的接灶圆子。”

        除夕夜，童年丰子恺感兴趣的第二件事是“看放谷花”。正月里浙西人家招待客人，首先要为客人泡一碗糖茶，让客人甜甜蜜蜜。糖茶里除了放糖外，还要放“镬糍”或爆米花。丰子恺家也放爆米花，且是自家土法爆的。

大年初一见人说恭喜

        大年初一，人人要图吉祥，但“童言无忌”，一旦儿童脱口而出不吉利的话，总还是犯忌的。浙西人早有防备，即用擦屁股的“毛草纸”为孩子揩嘴。此俗有两种用意：被擦过嘴的孩子，过去一年里说的不吉利的话或骂人的脏话等于放屁；新年里再乱说话，也等于放屁。童年丰子恺的兴趣自然不是自己被大人揩，而是拿了老毛草纸去揩别人。

        大年初一清晨，浙西的善男信女有“烧头香”的习俗。能到附近的寺庙里“烧头香”，可以保佑全家新年平安。

        灶君腊月廿三上天，大年初一下凡。家家户户都要清晨接灶，灶台上敬放新的灶君画像，点上香烛跪拜。家家煮上一锅圆子，盛一碗供奉灶君，其他则全家人吃，俗称“接灶圆子”。“接灶圆子”洗沙馅，还要加糖，以祈新年甜甜蜜蜜。吃过圆子，可以再睡。大年初一睏晏觉，俗称“焐蚕花”，可以保佑新年蚕事大熟，这大概可以算是一种巫术。丰子恺随笔《新年怀旧》就写了这些习俗：

        夜半过后在时序上已经是新年了；但在习惯上，这五六个小时还算是旧年。我们于后半夜结伴出门，各种商店统统开着，街上行人不绝，收账的还是提着灯笼幢幢来往。但在一方面，烧头香的善男信女，已经携着香烛向寺庙巡礼了。我们跟着收账的，跟着烧香的，向全镇乱跑。直到肚子跑饿，天将向晓，然后回到家里来吃接灶圆子，怀着明朝的大欢乐的希望而酣然就睡。

        浙江镇海人王鲁彦在回忆性散文《开门炮》里回忆了儿时在故乡的过年情景。由于父亲长年在外，“我”不能像别的孩子那样，享受过年的快乐，经常要代表父亲祭祀和拜年，但无奈中也有乐趣。特别是有一年，父亲回家来过年，还答应了“我”的请求，年底买了六七个爆竹，让我来放“开门炮”。散文回忆了大年初一清晨，开门出去，父亲指点“我”放“开门炮”，又惊又喜，特别刺激。“这是什么样的快乐！那一次元旦的早晨！一生中的那一个新年！”

        周作人对于江南小城镇习俗的文化记忆，主要为岁时习俗文化。其《儿童杂事诗》开头三首，都是对儿时过新年的回忆。第一首《新年》：

        新年拜岁换新衣，白袜花鞋样样齐。

        小辫朝天红线扎，分明一只小荸荠。

        农历新年，孩子换上新衣，喜气洋洋。红线扎小辫，则为晚清特有的装扮。

        第二首《压岁钱》：

        昨夜新收压岁钱，板方一百枕头边。

        大街玩具商量买，先要金鱼三脚蟾。

        第三首《下乡作客》：

        下乡作客拜新年，半日猴儿着小冠。

        待得归舟双橹动，打开帽盒吃桃缠。

        清末民初的江南人家，“以舟为车，以楫为马”。坐船去乡下做客拜新年，临别时亲戚家会专门送给孩子糕点和水果。明明刚吃饱拜年酒，但归舟橹动，孩子们就迫不及待地打开“帽盒”，吃起桃缠来。大人们往往会嘲笑孩子“猴子不留隔夜饭”。

        周作人在《祝福与过年》中，专门介绍旧时过年的情景。他引述《清嘉录》中苏州过年的热闹情景，进而又引清代诗人蔡云诗曰：“三牲三果赛神虔，不说赛神说过年。一样过年分早晚，声声听取霸王鞭。”他认为浙东绍兴祝福情形与吴地诗文中所说大同小异。普通绍兴人家，把谢年与求福，混称祝福。正月里则忙于拜年和请客。

        对于过年的规矩，鲁迅在回忆性散文《阿长与山海经》中，生动地叙写了自己的保姆长妈妈教给童年鲁迅的一些年俗规矩：

        但是她懂得许多规矩。这些规矩，也大概是我所不耐烦的。一年中最高兴的时节，自然要数除夕了。辞岁之后，从长辈得到压岁钱，红纸包着，放在枕边，只要过一宵，便可以随意使用。睡在枕上，看着红包，想到明天买来的小鼓、刀枪、泥人、糖菩萨……然而她进来，又将一个福橘放在床头了。

        “哥儿，你牢牢记住！”她极其郑重地说。“明天是正月初一，清早一睁开眼睛，第一句话就得对我说：‘阿妈，恭喜恭喜！记得么？你要记着，这是一年的运气的事情。不许说别的话！说过之后，还得吃一点福橘。”她又拿起那橘子来在我的眼前摇了两摇，“那么，一年到头，顺顺流流……。”

        梦里也记得元旦的，第二天醒得特别早，一醒，就要坐起来。她却立刻伸出臂膊，一把将我按住。我惊异地看她时，只见她惶急地看着我。

        她又有所要求似的，摇着我的肩。我忽而记得了──

        “阿妈，恭喜……。”

        “恭喜恭喜！大家恭喜！真聪明！恭喜恭喜！”她于是十分喜欢似的，笑将起来，同时将一点冰冷的东西，塞在我的嘴里。我大吃一惊之后，也就忽而记得，这就是所谓福橘。元旦辟头的磨难，总算已经受完，可以下床玩耍去了。

        鲁迅的小说《祝福》，写“我”于送灶那天的夜里回到久别的故乡鲁镇，感受到了市镇上迎新年的气象：“灰白色的沉重的晚云中间时时发出闪光，接着一声钝响，是送灶的爆竹；近处燃放的可就更强烈了，震耳的大音还没有息，空气里已经散满了幽微的火药香。”

        江南有些大户人家，宗族的祭祀活动更为隆重。大宗族的祖上都为子孙后代留下了“祭田”，各家轮流主持宗族春节、清明和冬至的三节祭祀活动，“祭田”里收来的租谷开销掉祭祀的费用后还有积余。鲁迅、周作人童年时的周家就是这么一个人丁兴旺的大宗族。三十几房共有一个祖先，所以鲁迅他们这一房三十多年才轮到一回“祭祀的值年”。鲁迅的小说《故乡》就由母亲说起闰土而回忆到了童年时周家主持宗族祭祀的盛况：

        那时我的父亲还在世，家景也好，我正是一个少爷。那一年，我家是一件大祭祀的值年。这祭祀，说是三十多年才能轮到一回，所以很郑重；正月里供祖像，供品很多，祭器很讲究，拜的人也很多，祭器也很要防偷去。我家只有一个忙月（我们这里给人做工的分三种：整年给一定人家做工的叫长工；按日给人做工的叫短工；自己也种地，只在过年过节以及收租时候来给一定人家做工的称忙月），忙不过来，他便对父亲说，可以叫他的儿子闰土来管祭器的。

        童年的鲁迅、周作人就在周家祭祀的大典上结识了“闰土”，听他讲述江边各种神奇的故事。

春节的压轴戏是元宵节

        元宵节又称上元节。过完元宵节，春节才算过完。周作人照例以儿童为视角，来写打油诗《上元》：

        上元设供蜡高烧，堂屋光明胜早朝。

        买得鸡灯无用处，厨房去看煮元宵。

        孩子们无忧无虑，买上元的鸡灯只是出于好玩。

        杭州人施蛰存的短篇小说《上元灯》中的“我”是位破落户家的少年，却患得患失地过元宵节。作为背景，小说也写了孩子们的元宵节：

        小说采用日记体，写了“我”的初恋故事。“我”喜欢她，她曾叫我元宵节去吃元宵，去她家看她扎的花灯。吃过元宵，我提了灯儿与她道别。

        我走热闹的大街回家，提着青纱彩画的灯儿，很光荣地回家。在路上，我以为我已是一个受人欢颂的胜利者了。

        为了迎元宵，热心人还会组织灯展。丰子恺在《视觉的粮食》一文中写道：“更规模地诱导我美术制作的兴味的，是迎花灯。”

        石门镇上元宵节迎花灯活动大约隔数年或十数年举行一次。全镇上的人全都很兴奋，努力制造各式的花灯争奇斗艳。四周农村里的人也天天夜里跑到镇上来看灯。丰子恺儿童时代有幸遇上一回迎花灯的盛事。丰家平时保藏在箱笼里的一把彩伞，也拿出来参加。丰子恺在灯烛辉煌中第一次看见它，感到异常兴奋。彩伞是丰子恺的父亲少年时代和姑母两人合作的，形式大体像古代的阳伞，六面形，每面由三张扁方形的黑纸用绿色绫条粘接而成，即全体由十八张黑纸围成。伞的里面点着灯，但黑纸很厚，不透光，只有刺出针孔的地方映出灯光来。故制作的主要工夫就是刺孔。十八张黑纸就如十八幅书画，每张的四周刺着装饰图案的带模样。带模样的中央，便是书画的地方。若是书，则笔笔剪空，空处粘着白色的熟矾纸，映着明亮的灯光；此外的空白处又刺着种种图案花纹作装饰。若是画，则画中的主体剪空，空处粘白色的熟矾纸，纸上绘着这主体的彩色图，使在灯光中灿烂地映出。其余的背景用针刺出。纸材与灯光的配合，单纯明快，富于视觉冲击力。当年这把彩伞被石门镇上公推为最精致而高尚的工艺品。正是惊叹于彩伞的精美，丰子恺小小年纪也学着制作，进而提高了对于书画的兴趣。

        浙江天台人陆蠡的散文集《海星》中有一篇叫《元宵》，写自己回到阔别多年的老家，遵循元宵夜“出门走百步，得大吉祥”的古训，一家三口提着灯笼上街去赏灯。尽兴而归后，更好的戏上演了：妻子专门请来的舞狮祈福。“处于深山中的雄狮，漫游，觅食，遇饵，辨疑，吞食，被絷，于是奔腾，咆哮，愤怒，挣扎，终于被人屈伏，驾驭，牵去。这是我们的祖先来这山间筚路蓝缕创设基业征服自然的象征，在每一个新年来示给我们终年辛苦的农民，叫我们记起人类的伟大，叫我们奋发自强。这也更成了孩子们最得意的喜剧。”作者为妻子的祈福所感动。