The third day of the Lunar New Year.
The sky had yet to brighten, and the crowing of roosters could be heard.
Following the crowing of the roosters, the prolonged shouting of the Second Steward from Duke Huang Mansion echoed: "Open the well!"
According to legends in the Jing and Ning Dynasties, the Well God would travel to the East Sea at the end of the year to report on the conditions of the land and its people.
In order not to disturb the Well God's journey, at dusk on New Year's Eve, each household would first fill their water jars with fresh water, place sweets and incense candles by the well to worship the Well God, then seal the wellhead with vermillion paper strips, thus sealing the well.
On the morning of the third day of the New Year, the entire family would gather by the well to remove the red seal and perform the ceremony of opening the well.
