The Original Text of "Laha Congee"

From the days when I could remember, I remembered that every year on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, my mother cooked Laha congee for us. This Laha congee was made with glutinous rice, brown sugar and eighteen kinds of dried fruits mixed together.

Dried fruits in the large dates, cinnamon, walnuts, white fruit, almonds, chestnuts, peanuts, raisins and so on, small beans and sesame and so on, eat very sweet and delicious. Mother every year is to cook a big pot, not only the size of the family ate, there are more also sent to neighbors and friends and relatives. Mother said: this congee was originally a Buddhist temple cooked for the Buddha - eighteen kinds of dried fruit symbolizes the eighteen Luohan, and then this custom will be in the folk pass, because this opportunity to clean up the kitchen cabinet, the remaining fruit, cooked for the children to eat, but also a good way to save. Finally, she sighed and said: "My mother died on the day of Laha, when I was only fourteen years old.

After I crouched over her and wept bitterly, I rushed to the kitchen to make breakfast for my father and brother, and saw on the stove a small pot of Laba congee that she had cooked yesterday, and now I still cook this Laba congee every year, not to make offerings to the Buddha, but to honor my mother." My mother died on January 7, 1930, which coincidentally was also the eighth day of the Lunar New Year! I had my own home by then, and in honor of my mother, I also cooked Laha congee on that day every year. Although I couldn't make up 18 kinds of dried fruits, my children loved it. After the war, we moved from north to south and sometimes abroad, especially in the last ten years, we hardly even have a "home", so we have forgotten the day of "Laha".

This year, on the morning of the day of "Lahai", I happened to see my third generation of several children, gathered around the table, washing dates, peeling peanuts, saw me come, all looked up and said: "Grandma, we will cook Lahai congee every year to eat it! Mom said the congee was delicious. You used to cook it every year." I laughed, thinking that these children were really greedy. I said, "That was when your moms were little. During the war, it was rare to have a little sweet food, and eating Laba congee became a big deal.

Why bother with that now?" They looked at each other and lowered their heads, and one of the children said softly, "Mother and Auntie said that your mother cooked Lapa congee every year in honor of her mother, and you cooked Lapa congee every year in honor of your mother.

Now in honor of our beloved Premier Zhou, Grandpa Zhou, we will also cook Laba congee every year! These jujubes, peanuts, chestnuts, and as many beans as we can scrape together, do not represent the Eighteen Luohan, but symbolize our generation of Chinese youngsters ready to take up all fronts, all tightly, meltingly, and sweetly united together ......" He pulled a small sheet of folded, flat calendar paper out of his pocket on one side. He took out a small, neatly folded piece of calendar paper from his pocket, and underneath the date of January 8, 1976, the words "December 8 of the year B Mao of the Lunar Calendar" were printed.

He brought this small piece of paper to my eyes and said: "Look, this is what mom kept. The anniversary of Grandpa Zhou's death is the 8th day of the 12th month!" I didn't say anything, only hyung lowered my head and peeled peanuts with them.

Questions:

1. The article explains the practice of "Laha congee", please draw the relevant sentences with a horizontal line.

2. Read the sentences and answer the questions in brackets.

(1) I still make this Laha congee every year, not to offer it to Buddha, but to honor my mother. (What kind of emotion is reflected in the shift from "making offerings to Buddha" to "honoring my mother"?)

(2) They looked at each other, lowered their heads, and one of the children said softly, "Mother and Auntie said that your mother cooks Lapa congee every year in memory of her mother, and you cook Lapa congee every year in memory of your mother. (Find a pair of antonyms from the text; what emotion is expressed by the children's "bowing their heads"?)

Answer:

1. This Laba congee is made of glutinous rice, brown sugar and eighteen kinds of dried fruits mixed together. Dried fruits in the big jujubes, cinnamon, walnuts, white fruit, almonds, chestnuts, peanuts, raisins, etc., small beans and sesame and so on, eat very sweet and savory. Mother every year is to cook a big pot, not only the size of the family to eat, there are more also sent to neighbors and friends.

2, (1) because the anniversary of the "Laha congee" is the anniversary of the mother's death, is in honor of the mother and cook Laha congee. (2) The deep reverence and nostalgia for the mother.

Expanded Information:

p>In China, in ancient times, the king of the heavenly kingdom, the lunar calendar in the twelfth month of each year to use dry things for the wax sacrifice, to honor the gods. Wax sacrifice was later popularized to the folk, and its custom still survives today, that is, on the eighth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, people in the south have to eat Lunar rice, and people in the north have to drink Lunar congee.

From the pre-Qin Dynasty onwards, the Lahai Festival was used to worship ancestors and gods, and to pray for a good harvest and good luck. The custom of drinking Laha congee in China has been very popular in the Song Dynasty. On the day of Laha, the imperial court, government, temples, and the homes of the people all made Laha congee. By the Qing Dynasty, the custom of drinking Laha congee was even more prevalent. In the court, the emperor, the empress, the emperor's son and so on to the civil and military ministers, attendants courtesans to give Laha congee, and to the various monasteries to distribute rice, fruit and so on for the monks to eat. In the civil society, families also do Laha congee, worship ancestors; at the same time, the family reunion together to eat, gifts to friends and relatives.

Lunar New Year's Day, the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, people are accustomed to call "Lunar New Year". It is said that after the unification of China by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, he ordered that December be renamed "Lunar New Year". And the word "wax" to the Han Dynasty before the official appearance.