Why do we need to turn on the lights on New Year’s Eve?

In ancient times, there were four explanations for turning on lights on New Year's Eve: one was to ward off evil spirits; the other was to drive away mice; the third was to worship ancestors; and the fourth was to keep the year old.

Let’s talk about the first theory first. According to legend, on New Year’s Eve, the Lord of Hell will also give the little ghosts a holiday, so at 12 o’clock in the evening, the gate of hell will open, and there will be many ghosts. They all wander around the streets. Ancient people were more feudal and superstitious. They believed that some elderly people with poor health and relatively small children were easily attacked by ghosts. If the lights were not turned on on this day, the ghosts would think that no one was living in the house, so they would enter the house and attack the owner of the house. . Therefore, on this day, people will light lamps to ward off evil spirits.

The second is that ancient Chinese people liked to make dumplings during the New Year. On the 30th day, people would make dumplings and save them for the reunion dinner on the first day of the new year. People in ancient times did not have refrigerators like they do now. Because winter is relatively cold, dumplings are usually placed outside. If you encounter a mouse and the mouse eats the dumplings, no one will be happy during the Chinese New Year, so they will light up lights to make the mice think that there are people, so they will not come to steal food.

The third is the tradition of worshiping ancestors. Sometimes the dumplings are made and placed in front of the ancestors, which means that the ancestors eat first. Since we are worshiping our ancestors, we cannot let our ancestors eat with dark lamps, so people will light evergreen lanterns to show their courtesy and respect for their ancestors. Anyway, this is the only day of the year when people need to light up lights for a long time. As long as their family conditions permit, people will light up their lights one after another on this night.

The fourth reason is to keep the year old. There was a tradition of keeping the year old in ancient times. The whole family chatted and waited for the arrival of the New Year. They couldn’t just wait in the dark.

However, in today’s society, it is no longer common to light lights all night long. After all, keeping lights on is not good for sleep. Most people do not worship their ancestors and there are no mice in their homes. They all fall asleep after watching the Spring Festival Gala.