Before firecrackers, what did Chinese households burn to scare away evil on New Year’s Eve? The answer is bamboo.
Ancient Chinese households are traditionally said to have burned bamboo because heated bamboo sections crackled and exploded loudly. The noise was believed to frighten away a malevolent spirit or devil associated with illness and misfortune during the New Year transition.
This practice is connected with the Chinese word baozhu, meaning “exploding bamboo.” Over time, bamboo firecrackers were replaced by manufactured firecrackers, which preserved the association between loud explosions, protection and a fresh start. Fireworks and firecrackers remain strongly associated with the festival, although regulations and local customs differ today.
Peach wood is another genuine protective material in Chinese tradition, which makes it a plausible wrong answer: peach-wood charms and bows were used in rituals against ghosts and disease. Incense also appears in New Year worship, but it was burned as an offering rather than as the direct predecessor of firecrackers in this story.