My hometown is in the beautiful and rich Hainan Island.

During the Spring Festival, there are many customs in my hometown. Eating vegetarian food on the first day of the new year is one of the many customs.

When I was young, I heard from my grandfather that in the old days, the requirements for eating vegetarian food were very strict. You had to eat vegetarian food all day long on the first day of the new year, and you were not allowed to eat any meat.

During the fast, the whole family wears new clothes and gathers around the Eight Immortals table. The elders bring vegetables to the younger ones and say some blessings while holding the vegetables. For example, when bringing eggplants, they would say, "I ate eggplants. I will definitely "eggplant" others in my studies this year."

It means being better than others).

Similarly, the younger generation can also bring vegetarian dishes to the elders and say I wish grandpa good health and longevity, etc.

I haven’t verified when fasting on the first day of the lunar new year originated.

I heard from grandpa that it was passed down from our ancestors.

The requirements for vegetarian dishes are very strict, and not all vegetables can be selected.

There are only eggplants, mung tofu, six ginger (mustard heads), water celery (a type of celery grown in paddy fields, with large and white roots that are edible, a specialty of my hometown) and so on.

Why only choose these kinds of vegetarian dishes?

There is a reason for this.

It turns out that the word "egg" in Hainanese for eggplant means "better than others".

Eating eggplant symbolizes being better than others; the word "qin" in water celery is pronounced in Hainanese and is homophonic with the word "qin" in Mandarin. Eating celery symbolizes hard work and prosperity in the new year; six ginger roots are numerous and white.

It looks very much like Shou Weng's silver beard.

People in my hometown eat six gingers, including the roots and leaves. Eating six gingers means longevity. The elderly can live to be like Shou Weng, with white hair and yellow beards. Tofu is tender and has no fiber, so you can still enjoy it without teeth.

Eating tofu also has a good wish, that is, to live until all the teeth fall out naturally (in ancient times, people in my hometown believed that the longest life was for a person to live without teeth); the shape of the bean sprouts is like a longevity old man, and the bean sprouts are like a longevity old man with bald hair.

The head and slightly curved bean pole resemble the body of a longevity man. Eating bean sprouts also symbolizes longevity.

Busy preparing vegetarian dishes at the end of the year. Every year at the end of the year, people in my hometown are busy preparing vegetarian dishes.

I remember when I was young, my mother always bought eggplants a few days in advance and soaked them in water.

Although it is the twelfth lunar month of winter, the weather in Hainan is hot, and eggplants can still be produced in winter.

I often ask my mother why I need to buy eggplants in advance. My mother says that eggplants are a must-have for vegetarians, so don’t worry if you buy them in advance. Otherwise, if the market is short, you will have to pay one or two yuan for an eggplant.

My family has paddy fields and can grow celery. Every year before New Year's Eve, the whole family is busy pulling, washing and selling celery.

It takes a lot of work to get celery. You have to pull out the roots and leaves from the paddy fields, then take them to rivers and ditches to clean them before selling them on the market.

When eating, remove the small hairy roots of water celery and leave the large white roots behind.

Vegetable oil must be used to stir-fry vegetarian vegetables on New Year's Eve.

In ancient times, after the vegetarian vegetables were fried, they were brought to the Eight Immortals' table in the main hall to worship ancestors and keep the New Year's Eve.

I started eating fast on the morning of the first day of the new year.

I remember when I was young, I used to stand in front of the stove. As soon as the vegetarian food was cooked, I would eat it first.

There are usually two kinds of celery fried by my father, one with salt and the other with some sugar, which makes it a little sweet.

I love sweet things the most.

Eating vegetarian food on the first day of the Lunar New Year in my hometown has a long history and profound cultural connotations. It not only has the flavor of the New Year customs, but also is a scientific dietary custom.

Because the New Year’s Eve dinner is all about big fish and meat, eating a lot of meat makes people feel greasy.

In the first year of junior high school, you don’t eat meat and eat only vegetarian food. This relieves people’s greasy feeling to a certain extent. If you eat fish after the second day of junior high school, it will be more fragrant and beautiful.

This New Year eating custom is the best way to eat during the Spring Festival from the perspective of scientific diet.

No wonder eating fast on the first day of the Lunar New Year has been passed down from ancient times to this day.

Related reading: The meaning of Hainanese vegetarian dishes Hainanese people should have eaten vegetarian soup, because eating vegetarian food on the first day of the Lunar New Year is a must-do for most families in Hainan.

So, do you know the meaning of the ingredients used in vegetarian vegetable pot? Fa Cai means getting rich, and the wealth is rolling in every day.

Beet, sweet and happy life.

Water celery is hard-working and willing to work, and it can keep people from starving to death.

Green garlic, if you can speak your mind, you will not suffer any loss.

Qiaotou, buckwheat and Hainan dialect are homophonic, meaning stronger than others, more powerful than others.

Some articles also said it was eggplant, but that was probably a clerical error. There was no eggplant in the vegetable pot, and Hainanese rarely eat eggplant during the Chinese New Year.

Cigu is a homophonic pronunciation of the Hainanese dialect word "Zhiguo", which means bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

A type of vermicelli.

It means that the steady flow of water will help the family and business flourish.

Day lily is called golden needle in Hainan, which means wealth and a strong family background.

Fungus, also known as cat ear in Hainanese.

Slang: Ermaomao (ears wrinkled), listen to the mother tongue.

Teach people to be filial.

Sweet bamboo, a kind of yuba, means making further progress.

Dried soybeans, strips, dyed yellow.

It means gold bars, it is the last word to have the goods in hand.

Peanuts, longevity fruit, wish your family health and longevity.

In the eyes of Hainanese people, all folk customs are made artificially according to people's will and wishes. Therefore, in Hainan dialect, all folk customs are preceded by the word "do", such as doing Qingming Festival.

, to be in-laws (that is, to get married), while northerners "celebrate the New Year", and Hainan dialect calls it "to celebrate the New Year".

It should be noted that "making the new year" refers to "making the old year", that is, celebrating the Spring Festival.

While in the north, celebrating New Year’s Day is called “making New Year’s Day” in Hainan.

However, in rural areas of Hainan, "New Year" is not "done" in previous years.

As the saying goes in Hainan, "The year is afraid of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the moon is afraid of the fifteenth day."