Why should firecrackers be set off during the Spring Festival? When did it spread?

1: Setting off firecrackers in the New Year has a history of more than two thousand years. The earliest firecrackers refer to the burning and explosion of bamboo, which is called firecrackers because it will make a crackling sound when burning.

Speaking of the origin of firecrackers, there is an interesting legend. "Nerve" said: "There are many things in the Western Hills, more than one foot, more than one foot. They are not afraid of people, and they are also called' mandrill', so future generations look like it and use gunpowder as it. " This is the earliest record of the origin of firecrackers, which records that people burned bamboo and exploded in order to scare away the harmful mandrill.

After the invention of gunpowder, "firecrackers" appeared, and people still use the name "firecrackers" today. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was a custom to set off firecrackers during the New Year. This custom is recorded in the Chronicle of Jingchu: "The first day of the first month is the day of three yuan. It is said that at the end of the month, chickens crow and firecrackers are burned in front of the court to eliminate mountain evils. "

4. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the time of setting off firecrackers was not limited to the early morning of the New Year's Day, but reached its climax at midnight on New Year's Eve, commonly known as "greeting God". At this time, no matter rich or poor, firecrackers should be set off. Xie Wenqiao's "Teaching New Year's Words" in the Qing Dynasty said: "Firecrackers started all night, fireworks came from Shengjing, precious silver flowers rang in the middle of the night, and the six streets were full of songs."

5. Setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival has a long history as a custom of celebrating the Spring Festival in China. Although this kind of activity can add a happy atmosphere to the festival, the smoke and sparks released by setting off firecrackers are easy to cause environmental pollution and fire. Many cities in China have formulated regulations prohibiting the discharge of fireworks and firecrackers, which have not been lifted yet.

Extended data:

(1) China New Year-It's hard to find out when this custom originated. It is generally believed that it originated from the activities of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors throughout the Shang Dynasty. Spring Festival is the most important and grand traditional festival in China. The first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of a year. On the first or middle day of the first lunar month, the first lunar month is now called the Spring Festival.

(2) New Year's Eve-there was an evil beast "Xi" in ancient times, so every year on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, in order to prevent the arrival of "Xi", everyone set off firecrackers, hung red cloth in front of the door, waited for the bell of "New Year's Eve", set off firecrackers and posted couplets.

(3) Firecrackers-Since the appearance of gunpowder, people have filled bamboo tubes with saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal to burn firecrackers, resulting in "firecrackers". In the Song Dynasty, people in China began to make "guns" (firecrackers) with paper tubes and hemp sticks wrapped in gunpowder.