What is the origin of firecrackers in Chinese New Year?

The origin of firecrackers in the Spring Festival I

Firecrackers, like peach charms and spring couplets, were first used to drive away evil spirits and ghosts. By the time of the North and South Dynasties, people burning firecrackers on New Year's Day had already formed a custom. The Jing Chu chronicle recorded this custom: "the first day of the first month, is also the day of the three yuan. Called the end of the month, the rooster rises, first in front of the court firecrackers, burning grass, in order to avoid the mandrill evil spirits." This is also the origin of firecrackers later in the Spring Festival. Thus, the word "firecracker" is the original meaning of the burning of bamboo and bursting.

After the invention of gunpowder, people no longer burn bamboo, but will be saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal, etc. filled in the bamboo tube burning, resulting in "firecrackers". However, this time, people still have been used "firecrackers" called, until today.

To the Song Dynasty, people made of paper instead of bamboo tubes, filled with gunpowder, hidden medicine line, made a new firecrackers. Until today, we still use this method, only in the process of improvement, in the pattern of renovation. In the Song Dynasty, there are people with hemp stems to paper firecrackers braided into a string, called it "braided gun". Because of the string of firecrackers put up the sound lasts a long time, crisp as if people shake the whip issued by the sound, so it is also called "firecrackers".

The Ming and Qing dynasties, the types of firecrackers more varied, the time of firecrackers is not limited to the early morning of the New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve that is the beginning of the night zero hour to reach a climax, commonly known as the "welcome to God". At this time, regardless of the poor and the rich and the poor are to set off firecrackers, Li Jiarui, "Beiping Customs and Traditions" quoted in the "Jutian Records," said: "the capital is densely populated, A in the world, the rich place to buy thousands of firecrackers, pay a torch. Poor families that are struggling to make ends meet and ask for a hole in the hole, but also will be bursting a few times, incense burning a column, in addition to the triviality of the early years, the next year's steam, this custom along the lines of also." Qing Dynasty Xie Wenjiao, "teaching the New Year's words" in: "all-night firecrackers a sound, fireworks by the Sheng Di Jing, torch silver flowers noisy night and a half, the six street song pipe music." This reflects the scene of firecrackers in Beijing at that time.

In recent years, as an important activity in the Spring Festival, many places have changed the Spring Festival city ban on firecrackers to give the general public the opportunity to celebrate the Spring Festival fireworks. City Spring Festival because of the firecrackers and lively. When the New Year's clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, the country into a boiling state, fireworks flying, firecrackers, always reserved Chinese into the world of carnival. The Chinese spend a red-hot Chinese New Year in a sky full of brilliant fireworks and red confetti.

The origin of the Spring Festival firecrackers two

Commonly known as "the first day of the year". People get up early to set off firecrackers, which is said to expel the "mandrill". Mandrill, is said to be a vicious one-horned ghosts and monsters in the mountains in ancient times, but it is most afraid of the sound, people will burn bamboo blasting sound to scare it away. With gunpowder, people use gunpowder into the bamboo tube, made of firecrackers, later made of paper tube, also known as firecrackers or cannonballs.

The origin of firecrackers in Chinese New Year III

Legend has it that many, many years ago, there was a very vicious beast in the forest called "Nian". Every year, on New Year's Eve of the summer lunar calendar, it would come out and roar, specializing in eating people and livestock. At that time, no one was able to subdue it. In order to avoid the disaster of "Nian", people have to kill pigs and slaughter sheep on New Year's Eve to honor Nian, so that it can fill up its stomach and not hurt people and animals.

One year on New Year's Eve, people forgot to kill the pigs and sheep to honor the "year", "year" came to roar, want to eat people. People had no choice but to close the door and climb up to the bamboo building to hide. "Nian went from one house to another, looking for something to eat. It saw that everywhere was empty and nothing, but not angry and crazy howling. At this time, the neighboring family's bamboo building caught fire, the fire is very big, burning the bamboo "cracking, popping," the chaotic sound. "When he heard this sudden noise, he was scared and fled back to the forest.

The people hiding upstairs found this secret, and then every Lunar New Year's Eve this day, they will go to cut many bamboo to burn, bamboo "crack crack crack" a burst, "year" was scared away. At the same time, people also found that the "year" shoot bright red color, so the peach board dyed red, hanging on both sides of the door, which is a lot of charm. After the invention of firecrackers and paper, firecrackers instead of firecrackers, red couplets instead of batch of symbols.