Firecrackers on New Year's Day
The first day of the first lunar month is the
first day of the year, of the season and of
the twelve months. On that day, people get up
at cockcrow. They light firecrackers in the
yard to drive away the Shan Sao, the legendary
ghosts that haunt the mountains. According to
the Book of Fairies and Ghosts, a strange creature
dwells in the western mountains. It is single-legged
and a little over a foot tall. By nature, it
is unafraid of human beings. If offended, it
will afflict the offender with fever. This creature
is called "the shan chao ghost". To
scare it, people burn bamboo which bursts with
a popping sound. |
