Report out of Tianjin, the city by the sea, only 80 miles east and 20 years behind Beijing…residents are doing what they can to alleviate the bad luck of China’s annus horribilis by, what else, setting off firecrackers to blow away the bad luck.
In particular, there are fears that certain gods might be interested in harming the city’s youngsters. I’m not really sure where this belief comes from, but further information is certainly welcome. Nevertheless, the good folks of Tianjin are preparing for spiritual warfare the old fashioned way…by stockpiling explosives.
Practically speaking, if you’re doing some early shopping for July 4 fireworks in TJ, be prepared to find many stores currently sold out of boomers, screamers, and assorted things that go bang.
Oh yeah, and if peach cobbler was on the menu you may find yourself similarly out of luck as anxious parents have cleared store shelves of canned peaches (桃罐头). You see, 桃 (tao/’peach’) is a homophone for 逃 (tao/’escape’) and so children who eat peaches (tao) can escape (tao) the fate of being snatched by nefarious supernatural forces who seek to do them harm.
Gotta love living in China sometimes.
(Thanks to YJ’s mom for the tip.)
