Shehuo of the Central Plains is an activity stagedby the local people for their own entertainmentduring the Chinese New Year period.It originatedfrom the ancient reverence for earth and fire.Shestands for the spirit of the earth and huo stands for thefire ancestor，said to be a fire spirit that could ward offdifficulties and evil.In a country like China，noted forits agricultural culture，the earth is the material base forthe people’s survival and development.Fire is the sourceof heat for cooking food and keeping warm and is alsoabsolutely essential for the survival and developmentof humankind.According to the primitive theories ofpeople in the ancient past，people believed that fire containeda special kind of spirit，which they began to worshipbecause of the greatvalue they placed onit.This worship
of earth and fire
among the ancient people of the Central Plains led to holding ceremoniesto honor them.As society changed and evolved，Shehuohas become a large-scale mass cultural activity for celebratingthe holiday in many areas and an entertainmentactivity for the masses in anticipation of good weather，abumper grain harvest and national peace and stability.
The folk custom of Shehuo of the Central Plains has along history.In and around Xunxian County of Henan the custom can be traced back to the 4th century AD duringthe Eastern Jin and Later Zhao periods of Chinese history.
It continued to develop through the Tang and Songdynasties and matured in the Ming and Qing period.Shehuo，as a kind of traditional mass entertainment activity，has enriched the cultural life of the people and effectivelyboosted the development of folk culture and folk customs.
Around the time of the Chinese New Year is peak seasonfor this traditional entertainment activity in the areasof the Central Plains inhabited by Han Chinese.Particularlyafter the Chinese New Year from the 10th to the 15thof the first lunar month when people have completed thetraditional round of visits to relatives，the people of villagesthroughout the area have spare time to engage inShehuo.
During this time the village divides into severalgroups，and groups may be formed with members of other villages.Funding of the activity comes from voluntarycontributions and a person in charge of the Shehuois responsible for managing human resources，materialresources and financial resources.
Shehuo activities usually take place in a wide-openspace outdoors.Where ever Shehuo activities take place，people announce their arrival by lighting strings of firecrackers.
The activities are usually held on an open-airstage and people come from all over the local area to participate.
Shehuo gets off to a grand start，accompanied by firecrackers，gongs，and drums.The opening act opens upa corridor for the Shehuo through the sea of people.Therhythm of the gongs and drums is strong and fast，andthe gong and drum band is the soul of Shehuo.The drummerof the band is like the conductor for the activitiessince the drummer is the one who controls the tempo.
The act with the highest degree of difficulty is usuallythe one in which young girls and boys（usually 4 or 5
years old）dressed in costume stand on the top of a steelrod 2 or 3 meters long or even longer that is fixed to atable.The top of the rod is decorated with colored paperin the form of cotton blossoms，fruit trees，clouds，tigers，or other ferocious animalsdepending on the contentof the skit.This act is at least asdangerous as acrobatics.
The decorated truck performance features peopledressed as famous figures from the past and present toform a tableau riding on a carefully decorated truck.Theclothing，props，and program for the decorated truck performanceare prepared and planned in advance by someexperienced personnel.Each group of villagers puts onact to show their particular talents.
The content of Shehuo in the Central Plains is rich andthe forms diverse，including walking on stilts，paddlingthe land boat，the lion dance，and the lantern dance.Statisticsshow that there are over 200 forms of this celebrationincluding gongs and drums，folk dancing，cars，boatsand sedan chairs，and martial arts.
