Why should firecrackers be set off during the Spring Festival?

The firecrackers we set off now actually originated from ancient firecrackers. According to Jingchu Chunqiu, people get up before dawn on the first day of the first month, and every family burns bamboo in the yard. Bamboo makes a crisp sound when it bursts, which can drive away monsters. After the invention of gunpowder, people put sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal into bamboo tubes, which made the bamboo sound louder after it was ignited. Later, people put gunpowder into the paper roll, which is a "gun".

String the "cannon" into a string and it becomes a "firecracker". After the "firecrackers" are lit, they can make a continuous sound. Because the source of firecrackers is related to burning bamboo in ancient times, it is also called "firecrackers".

The reason why the ancients burned bamboo was to exorcise evil spirits. Legend has it that in ancient times, people were often harassed by some monsters, especially a monster named Nian. Older than the face, but with only one leg, it will come out to harm people every Spring Festival. People you meet will be hot and cold all over. If left untreated, they will die of pain.

One year during the Spring Festival, in order to celebrate the bumper harvest and pray for good weather in the coming year, every household decorated with lanterns and decorated with colorful songs and danced until after midnight. People immersed in joy suddenly had a whim and lit bamboo around the bonfire. The crackling of bamboo thrown into the fire pushed the happy atmosphere to a climax.

In the middle of the night, the year of harm came. As soon as it enters the village, it will make waves. Suddenly, it heard the crackle of burning bamboo in the bonfire, so it turned around and ran. Only when people saw this scene did they know that the Year of the Demon was afraid of noise and fire. Therefore, at this time of the year, ordinary people set off firecrackers to scare away the New Year. After a long time, Nian never dared to harm the people again. Although the New Year no longer appears, people still have the habit of setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, people set off firecrackers in the New Year no longer to exorcise ghosts, but to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, adding a festive atmosphere.

Children set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve.