How did the custom of not turning off the lights on New Year's Eve come from?

In ancient times, there were four ways to turn on the lights on New Year's Eve. One is to ward off evil spirits; The second is to drive away mice; The third is to worship ancestors; The fourth is bowling.

Let's start with the first statement. It is said that on New Year's Eve, scary ghosts will also give children a holiday, so at 12 that night, the ghost door will be wide open and many ghosts will wander in the street. Ancient people were superstitious in feudalism, believing that some old people and young children who were in poor health were easily hit by ghosts. If there is no light at home on this day, the ghost will think that there is no one living in the house, thus entering the house and colliding with the owner of the house. Therefore, on this day, people will light lamps to exorcise evil spirits.

Secondly, in ancient China, people liked to wrap jiaozi in the Spring Festival. On the 30th, people will pack jiaozi until the first day of family reunion dinner. People in ancient times didn't have refrigerators like this. Because it is very cold in winter, jiaozi usually chooses to put them outside. If you meet a mouse, and the mouse eats jiaozi, and no one is happy during the Chinese New Year, just light a lamp to make the mouse think that someone is there and won't steal it.

Third, there is a tradition of offering sacrifices to ancestors. Sometimes, jiaozi is wrapped and placed before the ancestors' ranking, indicating that the ancestors should eat first. Since it is a sacrifice to ancestors, they can't be allowed to eat with the lights on, so people will light ever-burning lamps to show their courtesy and respect for their ancestors. Anyway, it takes a long time to light a lamp on this day every year. As long as family conditions permit, people will light up one after another on this night.

Fourth, it is because of the tradition of observing age. In ancient times, a family chatted and waited for the arrival of the New Year, and could not wait in the dark.

However, in today's society, it is not common to light all night. After all, it is not good for sleep. Most people don't worship their ancestors, and there are no mice at home. After watching the Spring Festival Gala, everyone washed and slept.