Why should firecrackers be set off during the Spring Festival?

Setting off firecrackers is said to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year, which means a beautiful yearning for the new year. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a fierce monster called Nian, which was in the deep sea all the year round, but at the turn of the old and the new, it came out to spoil crops and hurt people and animals, and the people complained bitterly. Once it went to the village to do evil again and was scared away by the red clothes hanging at the door. When I arrived at another place, I was scared by the lights and ran around.

To commemorate this victory, every family will stick red paper couplets on their doors, light lanterns, bang gongs and drums, and set off firecrackers and fireworks at this time of winter. At night, vigil all night; The next day, I congratulated each other early in the morning. This has been passed down from generation to generation, and it has become a "New Year". ?

In the Northern and Southern 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. " This is also the origin of people setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival.

The original meaning of the word "firecrackers" means burning bamboo and exploding. After the invention of gunpowder, people no longer burned bamboo, but filled it with saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. Burning in a bamboo tube, causing "explosion". However, until today, people still use the word "firecrackers".