Thanks Niu Guanjie! Is this custom uniformly found throughout China, or at least northern China, or is it regarded as characteristic of certain regions?

The custom in North China mentioned by Prof. David Holm is called She-Huo (means Community Fire ）. She-Huo originated in the worship of earth and fire. It is an ancient cultural heritage of Han, not Mongoloid. She-Huo is always performed in Yuanxiao Festival (Jan 15 th in the traditional Chinese calendar) and other local solemn assembly. According to Sushi Yanyi (the novel in Tang Dynasty), She-Huo performance in Shanxi Province appeared in Pre － Qin Period. It was flourishing in Song Dynasty. In Ming and Qing period, She-Huo was rich in content, and added some imitation performances, just like ghosts, animals and personages.

As Prof. David Holm said, the She-Huo had disappeared in Yulin County of Shenxi Province, but we can still see it in Dongyang Town of Yuci City, Shanxi Province today. She-Huo here divides into two parts: the main part in the past is the propping up the fire; another part is display fire. Propping up the fire is only open to the villagers. The fire shelf is desks piled one above another and the amount of desks is always twelve(means 12 months a year). In addition ，She-Huo also includes putting on a display of fireworks.