What does it mean to sprinkle sesame stalks in the yard during the Spring Festival?

Southern Shandong is bordered by Mount Tai in the north, Huaihai in the south, Yimeng Mountain in the east and the Grand Canal and Weishan Lake in the west. This land of geomantic omen is the hometown of Confucius, Mencius and Mozi. There is a custom of spreading sesame stalks in the yard and installing fences outside and inside the door. Before New Year's Eve, after the villagers posted the Spring Festival couplets, they scattered sesame stalks all over the yard, stamped their feet, and inserted a grinding stick outside and inside the threshold. In the early morning of the third day, firecrackers were set off first, then sesame stalks were cleaned up in piles for firewood, and the door plugs were removed at the same time.

The custom of spreading sesame stickers and putting stickers on doors in my hometown is considered by the villagers to be originated from the etiquette of court meteors in ancient times, and the record of court meteors was first seen in Zonggu's The Time of Jingchu in the Southern Dynasty. Tingliao lit bamboo piles in an open place to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters; The other is offering sacrifices to ancestors and gods. The fire symbolizes prosperity. It is also useful to burn pine, cypress, peach and apricot branches in the brazier. The family will cross the fire to symbolize the old disaster and usher in a new atmosphere. It took a long time to evolve into today's form. The reason may be that burning sesame stalks without bamboo in the north can make a crackling sound. There are many low straw houses in the old village, and every family burns sesame stalks, which is easy to cause fires, so they scatter sesame stalks instead, and their feet can still make a crackling sound when they step on them. At the same time, sprinkling sesame stalks does have the function of preventing thieves. During the China New Year, people should always keep their doors open. With sesame stems, it rings as soon as you step on them, and thieves dare not enter the hospital, so people can get together for the New Year with peace of mind.