Chinese New Year lion dance and firecrackers
The tradition of setting off firecrackers goes back thousands of years even before the invention of gunpowder. Originally burning dry bamboo was used to scare away wild beasts especially the mythical beast known as the ‘nian’ in Mandarin and ‘ni’ in the Chaozhou dialect that appeared at yearly intervals and came to mean “year”. The creature feared the loud sound and kept away from the people. With the advent of gunpowder it was used to fill bamboo tubes and lit to produce loud explosions. The custom of touching off firecrackers for New Year was passed down and the tradition has lasted to the present day.