Chinese New Year Legends and Stories: The Legend of the "Nian" Monster

The Spring Festival, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, also known as the lunar year, commonly known as "New Year". The Spring Festival has a long history, which originated in the Yinshang period at the end of the year to sacrifice to the gods and ancestors.

In the legend of the "year" monster, there are five kinds of claims widely circulated, the following with me to see it:

? One of the "New Year" monster legends: the "New Year" beast?

Legend has it that in ancient China there was a monster called "Nian", with a long, sharp head and abnormal ferocity. The beast lives under the sea for many years, and every New Year's Eve, it climbs up to the shore to devour livestock and hurt people, so every New Year's Eve, people help the old and the young, fleeing to the mountains, in order to avoid the harm of the beast. It is said that the beast of the year head big body small, body length of more than ten feet, eyes such as copper bells, come and go as the wind, wailing when issued "Nian Nian" sound, so the name of the beast of the year.

The fierce beast called "year", every Lunar New Year's Eve, will be scurrying from village to village, foraging for human flesh, mutilation of living beings. One night on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, Nian arrived at a village where two shepherd boys were competing in a cattle prodding contest. When the two cowherd boys were competing with each other, the Nian suddenly heard the sound of whips snapping in mid-air and fled in fear. It scurried to another village, and looked head-on to the door of a family sunshine a big red dress, it does not know what it is, scared and quickly turned around and fled. Later it came to a village, towards a family door to look, only to see the lights inside, stabbing it dizzy, had to slip away again with his tail between his legs. People have thus recognized the weaknesses of Nian, which is afraid of noise, red and light, and have come up with a number of ways to defend themselves against it, which has gradually evolved into today's New Year's Eve customs.

The New Year's Eve, should be evolved from the beast. Because of the time, "New Year" is the end of winter and early spring, the snow closed the mountains and roads. Humans already know how to save food, against the cold, concentrated life, but the beasts can only venture down the mountain to eat people. Human development later, there are years, months and AD chronology, but the environment has rarely changed, the beasts are still in the late winter and early spring down the mountain to eat people. With the generations of oral tradition and the "literati" processing, so the "beast of the year" appeared.

? The "year" monster legend of the second: the old age to stay up the year?

There is also a legend of "keeping the New Year alive". This is also one of the most commonly heard legends, every New Year's Eve, the ancient times, there is a fierce beast, scattered in the mountains and dense forests, people call them "New Year". It is hideous, ferocious nature, specializing in eating birds and beasts, scales and insects, a day to change a taste, from knocking insects have been eaten to the living, so that people talk about the "year" color change. Later, people slowly grasp the "year" of the activities of the law, it is every three hundred and sixty-five days scurrying to the crowd of people living in the place to taste a mouthful of food, and the time of the infestation are in the dark, until the rooster breaks the dawn, they will return to the mountains and forests to go.

Calculating the date of the "New Year" rampage, the people will be this terrible night as a pass to brake, called "New Year's Pass", and came up with a whole set of New Year's Pass approach: every night, every family is ahead of time to do a good job of dinner, extinguish the fire! Net stove, and then all the chicken coop cattle pen tethered to the front and back doors of the mansion are sealed, hiding in the house to eat "New Year's Eve dinner", because this dinner has the meaning of bad luck and uncertainty, so organized very sumptuous, in addition to the whole family to eat together to express the harmony and reunion, but also have to be in the meal before the sacrifice to the ancestors, praying for the blessing of the gods of the ancestors, and the gods of the ancestors, and the gods of the ancestors. Safe through the night, after dinner, who do not dare to sleep, sitting together in a crowded chatting courage. The habit of staying up on New Year's Eve was gradually formed.

? The "year" monster of the legend of the third: "Xi" beast?

Legend has it that in ancient times there was a four-horned, four-legged beast - Xi, when the snow closed the mountains, Xi party to the nearby scourge of the neighbors looking for food, and at the end of every waxing moon, people are sorting out their clothes and carrying their children to the nearby bamboo forest to hide from Xi.　　

This year, when the village people were preparing to take refuge, a kind mother-in-law saved a child from starvation on the side of the road and brought him to the bamboo forest to escape from Xi. The grandmother told the child that Yu had chased him here and left in a hurry when she saw people felling the bamboo. The child thought for a moment and told everyone that he had a way to get rid of Xiu, and asked everyone to cut more bamboo joints to take with them, and to go home with a piece of red cloth on the door of each house.　　

Yu came again, the child stepped in to attract Yu's attention, so that the villagers threw into the fire broken bamboo, but because of fear, everyone froze. At that moment, Yu picked the child up by his horns and threw him to the ground. The villagers reacted to the sound of the child hitting the ground and threw bamboo sticks into the fire. Since they had not been cut long ago, the wet bamboo sticks exploded and crackled when they met the fire! The "Yu" heard the noise and ran away, not damaging anything else in the village.　　

Yu was scared away, the households were saved because of the red strips hanging in front of their doors, and Yu didn't enter, but the clever boy who saved the village died. And that day was the first day of the first month. This clever boy was called "Nian".　

Because Nian didn't die, every year on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, everyone waited for the broken bamboo festival, hoping to get rid of Nian soon. But a year has passed, no one has not seen "Xi", there is just to prevent the arrival of "Xi" burning firecrackers and hanging in front of the door of the red cloth, but left us with this legend and New Year's custom.

? The "year" strange legend of the fourth: "year" in addition to the "eve"?

Legend has it that a long, long time ago, there is a monster called "Xi", every year the year is coming to an end, "Xi" always have to come out to eat people, even the "nine days of the east kitchen Secretary Taiyi Yuan Huang Dingfu Zhaoshan Tianzun", all take "Xi" can not help, this word is very long name who is it, this is the Jade Emperor sealed, is the people's household enshrine the "Zaowang master"!

This is called "Xi" monster at the end of the year will come out of the chaos, the people, so the heaven sent down the supervisor, our family head of the Zao Wang Wang Wang to return to the court of heaven, the court of heaven sent a called "year" of the beast. The beast was so powerful that he wielded red silk and put bamboo poles in the fire, which crackled and snapped and scared away the beast. The Yu Beast was finally destroyed!

And this day happens to be the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, not the last day of the waxing moon, the people in order to appreciate and commemorate the beast in this day to get rid of the beast of the sunset, the lunar calendar every year in December, that is, the last day of the waxing moon called "New Year's Eve", the first day of the New Year is called "New Year! The first day of the New Year was called "New Year's Eve". After the beast was eliminated, the people hope that every household has the red silk and crackling bamboo poles in the hands of the beast, so the red silk and put on fire in the crackling bamboo poles, slowly and gradually evolved into a family New Year's red couplets and firecrackers. It plays a role in deterring and warding off evil spirits!

? The fifth legend of the "New Year" monster: "Chilang shoots Xi?

Once upon a time, there was a monster called "Xi", which specialized in harming people and especially liked to eat pretty girls. The people hated it to death, but there was nothing they could do about it. There was a hunter named Shichiro, who was very powerful and good at archery, and he also had a very powerful hunting dog. When Shichiro saw that the people were suffering from Yu, he wanted to get rid of it. He took his hunting dog with him and searched everywhere for Yu, but he couldn't find him.

On the night of the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, it only comes out to harm people, but during the week, no one can see it, and no one knows where it lives. Seven Lang looking for the "sunset" looking for a year, and then came to the Lunar New Year's Eve. When he came to a town, he saw that people were preparing for the New Year, and he thought, "This town is big and there are many girls, so maybe Xiu will come here, so I will wait for it here. He told the townspeople, "Yu is afraid of loud noises, so don't go to sleep at night, find something that makes a loud noise and put it near you, and if you find Yu, knock it as hard as you can, and then I'll go and get rid of Yu."

At night, Yu came, and it was discovered as soon as it entered a house. The family immediately knocked down the pots and pans, and when the family knocked down the pots and pans, the whole town knocked down the pots and pans. Yuki was so scared that he scurried around, only to be seen by Shichiro. The hound dog bit down on the back leg of "Xi", Shichiro took the opportunity to open the bow and shot, and finally shot "Xi" to death. Since then, people called the 30th day of the Lunar New Year "New Year's Eve". On this night, every family will observe the New Year's Eve and set off firecrackers, so as to drive away bad luck and welcome happiness and prosperity.

Of course, these are just legends, but from these well-organized, chapter-based legends, can be reflected from the side, in the ancient farming society, the people's fear of nature, the fear of a highly abstract, but also tell us, in the fear of the front, is not powerless, Yong "to punish the evil and promote the good," the myths of the prayer. The myth of the "punishment of evil and goodness" is to pray for the weather to be favorable and for the people to live in peace and happiness!