The Origin and Development of Social Fire

Shehuo is a traditional carnival in China to celebrate the Spring Festival. It is also the general name of Gao Tai, stilts, dry boat, lion dance, dragon dance, yangko, etc. The specific forms vary greatly from region to region.

Tracing back to the origin of "social fire" is also related to totem worship and primitive songs and dances in ancient times. Totem worship has experienced a long time in the history of our country. In primitive society, people carved the totem symbols of this clan on stone walls, wooden pillars or stabbed them on their bodies, painted them on their faces, and some even made masks. In the sacrificial season, people paint totem patterns or wear totem masks on their bodies, beating labor tools and dancing wildly, hoping that the totem they worship will give them a magical power. This ancient custom has been passed down to this day. Every year from the first day to the fifteenth day of the first month, Shaanxi and other places will hold a grand and lively social fire activity.

The activities of social fire have been handed down from generation to generation, but with the progress of human beings and the evolution of the times, its form and content have undergone qualitative changes, and the new era has given new content to social fire. It was not until 1980s that the traditional folk entertainment of Shehuo was restored. At present, the social fire has fundamentally abandoned the worship of "God" and the sacrifice of ancestors, and has evolved into a cultural and entertainment activity with healthy content, lively form, diverse names and vivid interest. At the same time, it has become a new folk custom.