Page 258 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

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Before the feast begins, father and eldest son go to the family graves
and invite the ancestral spirits to their home: pictures of them are hung up, candles and
incense are lit. ‘The doors are protected by the two genii of the door and by lucky
symbols in red against evil spirits; and when the doors are closed people settle down
to wait for midnight, taking great care not to pronounce any word that might have
inauspicious connotations’ (Richard Wilhelm).
In preparation for the feast, the streets are also decorated with lanterns of every
shape and colour, paper dragons and shadow-pictures. ‘On the walls brightly coloured
pictures are hung up for sale; most of these depict chubby, well-nourished children,
or the friendly domestic spirits: Guan-di, the tutelary god with his red face;
Guan-yin, the goddess of mercy with her falcon, which brings her the chain of prayers
from earth-dwellers, and with her vase of twigs that shower blessings… and
of course the god of riches: he is never absent from any country store’
(Richard Wilhelm).
The conclusion of the Feast of Lanterns on the first full moon after New Year also
marks the end of the whole festival.