Why do we set off firecrackers before building a house?

The customs and habits of each place are different, and each family has different ways of doing important things. As for those who build new houses in rural areas and set off firecrackers on every floor, there is no need to do this in all places.

The author himself has had a similar experience, but it is indeed not as complicated as the questioner said. Perhaps the customs are different in each place, and they are also different in different places in Zhejiang. The custom in my hometown is that after the planning department carries out pile driving and positioning, some families will ask a Feng Shui master to determine the orientation of the house, and in the early morning when the ground is being excavated, they will burn incense and pray around the homestead. After that, we enter the normal excavation, foundation, construction, wall building, concrete pouring and other related links.

But when it comes to pouring or mounting the top beams, not only must you choose a good day, but you must also choose a good time. The beams are wrapped with red paper, pine and cypress, and words such as "Shang Liang Daji" are also written. They also set off firecrackers, beat gongs and drums, and throw out cigarettes, candies, fruits, peanuts, eggs and other gifts. Of course, there are also red envelopes given to each worker. There was even a banquet held for neighbors and workers to celebrate together.

This may be a relatively common custom, which corroborates the saying: "Build a house with beams, and the family will be prosperous; build a house without beams, and the population will not be prosperous." There is also the so-called "If the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked, the middle beam will fall if it is not straight." This reflects the importance of upper beams in rural house building. As for other rituals that need to be performed every time a floor is built, that is really rare and is also laborious. Many of them were commissioned to build the whole project in Baotou, and it was really tiring to have to run back and forth on each floor. But the etiquette for setting up the beam is also found in many places, and it is very similar. I believe it will continue in the future!