The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-06-28
F1REcRAcKERs IN CHINA.
Used for Purpose of Driving Out
Devils"

for compressed gunpowder-who look
upon the Chinese frecracker as the in
vention of the evil one. AS a matter of
lfact, the red frecracker is more def
lntely associated with Chinese religious
Iobservances than with Chinese sport
Instead of being the invention of the
levil one, in China the firecracker is US
ed mostly for the purpose of driving
out deIils," an employment which,
though it may contain few of the es-
sentials to sport, is not to be confound-
ed with the use that Young America
makes of the article on the glorious
Fourth. Indeed, the Chinese boys and
girls are not allowed even to touch
these implements of religious warfare.
Even those who are not interested in
frecrackers have noticed the little
sheets of red paper pasted on the front
of every package of genuine Canton
flrecrackers-red peach paper it called
by the Chinese. These labels-to use
an Occidental business term-are
splashed with golden hieroglyphics.
The natural inference is that these~esel
relate to the manufacturer; but were
you to ask information of denizen Of
Chinatown, he would answer you re-
verently that in that bit of red paper is
the spirit that dwells in all eternal
things. The Chinaman, when once you
have scaled the barrier of guileless ur-
banity and almost childish simplicity,
lis a mystic Of the mystics, and to him
that brackred patch Of paper is an elo-
quent symbol. 1t is at once a charm
with which to conjure away the evil
spirits and a talisman with which to
summon the favor Of his personal and
his household gods.
And it is red. Therein lies the Sc
cret of it's efficacy. Red is the color
of China. No color, not even the i'm
perial yellow or the royal peacock pur-
pie, lies SO near to the heat of the
Chinese as red This devotion is eX-
planned by the fact that the peach pa
per represents to them the Tree of
Life. aIn associating mystical mean
ing with this color and symbolizing 1t
as the Tree of Life, the Chinese phil
osopher is only following a train of
thought to its ligical conclusion. The
Tree of Life is the tree Of man, and
red is not only the color of blood but
of universal life. 1t is, therefore, the
color Of salvation operating to secure
the health ofNbody and soul. Red, con-
sequently, is the color of the peach pa
per that the Chinaman tacks to the
doorposts of his dwelling in order 10
guard against the intrusion Of evil,
Red, in fact, is used on every joyful oc-
oasion-at marriage, at feast or at
the birth Of male child. When the
newcomer is a girl the house is decorat-
ed with white, which is the smymbol OF
mourning. Girls are not considered OF
much value in China. Red is the color
of the longevity candles" with which
the devout follower of CONTIGUOUS propi
tiates his joss; red is the color of the
birthday eggs, the giving of which Is
religious ceremony in China, and the
eyes of the idols are always painted
red. Before this color has been appli-
ed the idol is but so much common
wood or stone; after, such is the power
of the paint, the idol is endowed with
all the virtue Of a good. Red is the
color of the Chinamans visiting card;
red is the color Of his pipe and OF all
his dearest possessions.
The method by which the Chinese
destroy the malign power of the evil
spirits is rater interesting. The cere-
mony is always performed on the
twenty.fourth day of the twelfth month
which is called in the Chinese calendar
the day when the spirits are seen out.
At midnight of the twenty-third day
the favorable household gods ascend to
Heaven to report upon the conduct OF
the family, and they do not return to
earth until New Years Eve, leaving
their charges meanwhile to the tender
mercies Of the evil spirits, who, in COM
lmon with the good deties, are supposed
to inhabit the house at least six months
of the year. AS the Chinese are afraid
lof disturbing their good spirits in at
lacking the evil ones, they wait until
the benign gods have a good start on
their celestial journey before they open
a vigorous campaign against the de-
mons Long strings of firecrackers-big
cannon crackers-are fastened from the
caves of the houses and then the fuse
lis ignited. The entire line is soon
ahlaze. the crackers spluttering, fizzine
and booming; and any misshapen imr
of the night that can wriggle through
the Gordon Of fire is regarded as SC
clever that the Chinaman will adopt
hi,, &c a nersonal god While the
crackers are booming, the Chinese fam
lilv will add to the cacophonous celebra-
ton by beating gongs, drums and Gym
balls; and after the evil spirits are van
ouished, balls of colored fire are shot
Into the sky, a message to the absent
household gods to inform them that
they have a sole claim to the house fol-
the next six months
AS an illustration of the radical diff
ference between two Oriental nations
the red peach paper is unknown in
Japan. The Japanese do not believe
that evil spirits fear red paper, splitting
firecrackers or shrieking bambs; but
they believe that the malign spirits
shrink before the ufolded beauty of the
lotus and the glory of the chrysanthe-
mum. The Japanese are poetical as
well as mythical, whereas, the moon
eyed gentleman Of the middle kingdom
is a stole in his symbolism. The
lChinaman has one idea in common with
the japanese of the old regime, how
ever, and that is that the blood of a
foreign devil" smeared on the Intel