BEIJING, Feb. 26 -- Holy suffering powers of poodelum. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep? About two Fridays ago? Me too, not that I'm complaining. What a buzz. Talk about bang for your kuai.

    So this is Chinese Lunar New Year-Spring Festival in the Golden Year of the Pig, an event that only occurs every three score. Pardon my boyish enthusiasm, but this was my first experience of New Year's Eve, Shanghai-style.

    The fireworks began, I thought in earnest, about 8:30pm. They were just a harbinger of boom. At midnight we were standing on the roof of our building when the entire skyline of the city exploded in a spectacular light show. I think the bangers were still going at 3am, but I can't be sure; I was deaf by then. They have been going intermittently ever since.

    Fireworks V: The Terminator occurred at midnight on Wednesday, putting all other evenings to shame with its intensity. Cai Shen, the God of Fortune, must have been well pleased.

    The Chinese invented gunpowder more than 1,000 years ago. Fireworks followed soon after that, and the legend of Nian was born.

    Nian is a particularly noisome evil spirit who manifests himself in the form of a quadruped with a head that looks like a hybrid of a dragon and a wide-mouthed toad.

    Nian always appeared on New Year's Eve and ate people (and more than one at a time, hence the big mouth).

    One day a mysterious elderly gentleman appeared and persuaded Nian to switch his diet from humans to animals. Nian surprisingly agreed.

    The old geezer, who turned out to be a god, told the people not to trust Nian, and gave them some invaluable advice before mounting the wraith and riding away into the sun-up. Nian, he told them, is terrified of the color red and loud noises. So the red lanterns, the couplets and the fireworks became part of New Year festivals, initially to frighten off Nian, and then just ghosts in general. (Memo to historical police: Please don't arrest me if I've got any of that wrong. I mean well, and people who get to know me say that I'm quite nice, except on a full moon).

    Of course, as with any season of celebration around the world, there is more to Spring Festival than lore. Wong and Mei have made me feel welcome in Shanghai from day one. They are a middle-aged couple who run the small fruit shop just down the road from my apartment block.

    Their produce is first class, and they always greet me with a beaming, genuine smile; genuine because when they smile, the eyes match the mouths.

    They work long, hard hours - from dawn each day, and sometimes they are still open at 1am when I walk home from work. People like Wong and Mei are the backbone of any society.

    In the week leading up to the start of the Spring Festival something happened that I thought impossible: The smiles of Wong and Mei became even more radiant.

    Ah. Their son and daughter, both in their 20s, have arrived from Jiangxi Province for the holiday break.

    That's what Spring Festival is really all about: The importance of love and family.

    The sumptuous feasts, traditionally prepared by mom, are also a major part of the package. So, what of Nian and his band of never-do-wells from Nether Nether Land? Well, Shanghai scared the bejasus out of them.

    They were last seen off the planet Qikoq, six galaxies away from the Milky Way.

    They were heading north at warp speed, their metaphorical tails firmly between their ditto legs. And this humble laowai's first impression of Spring Festival: We live in a city that is so cool that it is off the cool meter.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)