Spring Festival for post-80s: continuation of traditions in modern times

China's younger generation spent this Spring Festival by continuing old traditions and keeping in tune with the tempo of modern life. Cleaning the house, frying dough twists, and writing spring couplets have became a Spring Festival routine for Liu Zichen, a post-80s youth.

On the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will paste on doors a spring  couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous festival atmosphere.

Every New Year's Eve, while Liu slept soundly, his considerate parents wrapped the brand new lucky money that they had specially replaced in the bank with a new handkerchief, and silently hid it under his pillow. On the first day of the first lunar month, when Liu opened his eyes, he could not wait to reach under the pillow, where he would find something to meet his biggest expectations of the year.

Liu, born in Quwo County, Shanxi Province, belongs to China's post-80s generation. In this generation's memory, during their childhood, they spent the Spring Festival happily, though it was always very busy. The entire family was busy preparing for the Spring Festival one month before it arrived. Apart from buying candies, firecrackers and other goods for the New Year, as well as frying pork balls, there were also three main "routines" that every family must do every year.

Clean up the house. The entire family got up early, and moved the furniture outside to sweep up the dust in the corners. Then they wiped and cleaned everything, big and small, in the house, and then moved the furniture back inside. The cleanup was done in haste because it must be finished in one day, and sometimes the cleanup was not concluded until one or two hours after it got dark.

Fry dough twists. In the courtyard, a kitchen stove was set up and firewood was chopped. Everyone had something to do: someone made dough twists, someone lit the stove, and someone put the dough twists into the pot. The fresh fried dough twists were soft and delicious. Everyone chatted while they fried the dough twists, and ate some of them if they felt hungry. It was the busiest day, as neighbors, friends and relatives all got together.