What are some short stories about the New Year?

1. According to legend, there was a monster called "Nian" in ancient China. It had green-faced fangs, sharp horns and sharp claws, and was extremely ferocious. They have lived deep in the mountains for many years, only going down to the mountains every New Year's Eve to devour livestock and injure people. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in every household leave home to avoid the harm of the Nian beast, which is called "New Year's Eve".

2. On New Year's Eve one year, people were helping the old and the young to take refuge in the mountains. An old man begging came from outside the village. Some people sealed their windows and locked their doors, some packed their bags, and there was a scene of rush and panic everywhere. No one cared about the begging old man. Only an old woman in the east of the village made dumplings for the old man to eat, and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid the Nian beast.

3. In order to repay the old woman’s kindness, the old man told her that the New Year was most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. He asked her to wear red clothes, put red paper on the door, light red candles, and burn them in the courtyard. The bamboo exploded. At midnight, the Nian beast broke into the village. Finding that the village was brightly lit, its eyes were forced to open by the dazzling red color, and it heard loud firecrackers coming from someone's house, so it ran away tremblingly.

4. From then on, people knew how to drive away the New Year. Every New Year’s Eve, every family posted red couplets and set off firecrackers; every household lit candles and watched the New Year. Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, we also visit relatives and friends to say hello and congratulate each other for surviving the ravages of the Nian beast. Later, this custom spread more and more widely and became the most solemn traditional festival among Chinese people.