There is a saying among Chinese people about setting off firecrackers: "opening firecrackers."

That is to say, when the New Year arrives, the first thing every household does when they open the door is to set off firecrackers, with the sound of beeping firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new.

Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers".

It originated very early and has a history of more than 2,000 years.

Nowadays, most of us think that setting off firecrackers can create a festive atmosphere and is an entertainment activity during the festival. It can bring joy and good luck to people.

However, if we trace the origin of firecrackers, we will understand the original intention of ancient people setting off firecrackers and the history of their evolution.

"Records of the Years of Jingchu" records: "On the first day of the first lunar month, when the rooster crows, firecrackers are fired in front of the court to avoid the evil spirits from the mountains." This record shows that firecrackers were an acoustic tool in ancient times to drive away plague and evil spirits.

, which makes the custom of setting off firecrackers somewhat superstitious from the beginning.

In fact, this is entirely caused by the misunderstanding of the ancients.

According to the "Shenyi Jing", in ancient times, people passed through the mountains and slept outdoors. They lit bonfires at night, firstly to cook and keep warm, and secondly to prevent wild beasts from attacking.

However, there is an animal in the mountains that is neither afraid of people nor fire, and often steals food when people are not prepared.

In order to deal with this kind of animal, people think of burning firecrackers in the fire and using the popping sound of bamboo to make it escape.

The animal mentioned here is called "Shanxi".

The ancients said that it can make people suffer from cold and fever. It is a ghost that can make people suffer from cold and fever diseases. It scares away the bad smell of mountains and repels the evil spirits of the mountains, so that they can gain good fortune and peace.

In the early Tang Dynasty, plague was widespread. A man named Li Tian put saltpeter in a bamboo tube and lit it to make a louder sound and thicker smoke. As a result, the mountain miasma was dissipated and the epidemic was stopped.

This is the earliest prototype of firecrackers filled with gunpowder.

Later, when gunpowder appeared, people filled bamboo tubes with saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal and burned them, creating "firecrackers."

By the Song Dynasty, people began to use paper tubes and hemp stems to wrap gunpowder and weave them into strings to make "weipao" (i.e. firecrackers).

Regarding the evolution of firecrackers, "Popular Choreography" records: "In ancient times, firecrackers were all fired with real bamboo, so they were also called firecrackers in Tang Dynasty poetry. Later generations rolled paper for them. They were called "firecrackers." Over time With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers has become more and more widespread, and the varieties and colors have become increasingly diverse. Liuyang in Hunan, Foshan and Dongyao in Guangdong, Yichun and Pingxiang in Jiangxi, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang are famous "hometowns of firecrackers" in my country. Firecrackers are not only sold throughout the country, but also exported to other countries and regions around the world. Setting off firecrackers has become a national entertainment activity, in addition to setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival and during major festivals and celebrations, such as the Lantern Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival. Firecrackers are also set off to celebrate the Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, weddings, house construction, openings, etc. The Spring Festival dragon dance and dragon lantern dance are also called "dragon dance" and "dragon lantern dance", which are unique folk entertainment activities in my country. During the Lantern Festival, the custom of playing dragon lanterns has become widespread in urban and rural areas of my country. After thousands of years of inheritance and development, playing dragon lanterns has become a lively, graceful and romantic folk dance. The superstition of dragons has a history of more than 2,000 years. In ancient times, people used dragon dances to pray for the blessing of the dragon, in order to obtain good weather and a good harvest. It is made of wood, paper, cloth, etc. The number of dragon sections is auspicious, and dragons with nine sections, eleven sections, and thirteen sections are common, and dragons with more than twenty-nine sections are common. It is relatively bulky and not suitable for dancing. It is mainly used for viewing. This kind of dragon is particularly decorative and has high craftsmanship value. There is also a "fire dragon", which is made of bamboo strips into a cylinder to form a cage, and is coated with transparent, Beautiful dragon robes, internal burning candles or oil lamps, the night performance is very spectacular. There are many ways to play the dragon lantern. The ones within nine sections focus on tricks. The more common movements are: dragon roaming, dragon head drilling into the stall, head and tail drilling together, The dragon dances its tail and the snake sheds its skin, etc. The dragon dance in the eleventh and thirteenth festivals focuses on action performances. The golden dragon chases the pearl, leaps and flies, sometimes flies into the clouds, and sometimes breaks into the sea. Dragon dance is a very beautiful custom among overseas Chinese. During the Chinese traditional festivals and major celebrations, they will dance with lions and play dragon lanterns, showing a strong oriental style. The New Year's money is distributed to the younger generation. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits. Because "Sui" and "Sui" are homophonic, the younger generation can live a safe and peaceful year after receiving the New Year's money. , placed at the foot of the bed, this record is found in "Yanjing Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is the money given to the children by parents wrapped in red paper, which can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or they can be given to the children in public. On New Year's Eve, parents secretly place New Year's money under their children's pillows when they are asleep. It is believed that when evil spirits or "Nian" harm their children, the children can use the money to bribe them and turn them into evil spirits. It is auspicious. Wu Manyun of the Qing Dynasty wrote in his poem "New Year's Money": "A hundred and ten pieces of money are threaded with long colorful threads. If you divide them and put them on your pillow, you can discuss the price of firecrackers and flutes, which will keep Jiaoer busy all night."

From this point of view, New Year's money is tied to the innocence of children, and children's New Year's money is mainly used to buy firecrackers, toys, candies and other festival items.