The great festival of
Saint Fu Chow Chow, celebrated on the last day of the year to welcome in the new. Various colorful lanterns in the shape of persimmons are decorated and put out, symbolizing the guiding and protecting light of Saint Fu.
- Red to ward off evil spirits
- Green to welcome new life
- White to guide the way for loved ones who passed in the previous year
- Orange to beckon luck in the new year to come
During the final month of the year leading up to the festival, churches decorate either their persimmon tree if they have one or a juniper tree with lanterns. Dogs come to pray for good fortune in the new year, tying ribbons or strips of cloth to the tree to represent each prayer.
Persimmons are considered a holy fruit associated with this holiday. Large ones are used as centerpieces and decorative strings of drying persimmon candy are common to see in windows this time of year. Small decorative cakes, colorful citrus fruits and herbs are also incorporated displays honoring ancestors in the days leading up to the festival. These are incorporated into the first meal of the new year.
Some towns host a parade, with dancers in costume reenacting great battles against the demons.
The use of lanterns may have originated with a village who put them out every year to ward off the terrible Nian that plagued the village.
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