Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - How did the legend of Chinese New Year come about? Introduction to Chinese Traditional Culture

How did the legend of Chinese New Year come about? Introduction to Chinese Traditional Culture

The Spring Festival is the largest and most lively traditional festival in China, commonly known as "New Year's Day". According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the first day of the first month of the lunar year is known as Yuanshi, Chen Yuan, Jacky, Yuanshuo and Yuandan, also known as New Year's Day. It is also known as Shangri-La, Zheng Chao, Sanshuo, Sanchao, Thirteen and Sanyuan, which means the first day of the first month is the beginning of the year, January and the day.

The Spring Festival, as the name suggests, is the Spring Festival. Spring is here, everything is renewed, and a new season of sowing and harvesting is about to begin. People have good reason to welcome the festival by singing and dancing. So, before the festival, put a New Year's message written in red paper and yellow font at the beginning of the book. When spring comes to the door, you will read a blessed New Year's message. With this thought, luck really comes, the same meaning of hanging red lanterns and sticking "lucky".

Another name for the Spring Festival is Chinese New Year. What is "New Year"? It is a fictional animal that brings bad luck. "When the year comes, the trees wither and the grass doesn't grow; when the year is over, everything grows and flowers are everywhere. How does a year pass? Firecrackers are needed, so there is a custom to set off firecrackers.

According to legend, in ancient times, there was a monster called Nian, with a long head and sharp horns. I lived under the sea for many years. Every New Year's Eve, he climbed ashore to devour livestock and maim people's lives. So every New Year's Eve, the people of the village would take their old and young and flee to the mountains to escape from Nian.

This year, on New Year's Eve, the people of the village were ready to take their young and old to hide in the mountains. At that moment, an old beggar came from outside the village. I saw him with a walking stick in his hand and a bag in his arms. His silver beard was flowing and his eyes were full of Matthew's stars. How could anyone in the village care about this old man? Only an old woman from the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to hurry up the mountain to avoid the annual beast. The old man laughed aloud and said, "If my granny lets me spend the night at your house, I will drive away the Year Beast." .

They didn't believe him, and when the old woman suggested he go up the mountain to avoid it, the old man insisted on staying. When they saw that he could not stop, they went up the hill to take shelter.

In the middle of the night the New Year's Beast broke into the village and realized that the atmosphere in the village was different from that of previous years: at the old woman's house at the east end of the village, there was red paper on the door, and candles were lit in the house. The beast of the year trembled and made strange noises. Nian stared at the granny's house for a while, then jumped over with a wild cry. We were almost at the door when there was a sudden "bang" from the hospital.

Year was afraid of red, fire and explosions. When the gate opened wide, I saw an old man in red clothes laughing in the yard. Nian was shocked and fled in panic.

The next day, when people came to this village from the mountains, they found it safe. They suddenly realized that this white-haired old man was the fairy who had helped everyone drive away the Year Beast.

To celebrate the auspicious arrival, the ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats and went to their relatives' and friends' houses to say hello.

The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the New Year's Beast. At the same time, people found the three main treasures for the gray-haired old man to drive away the New Year's beast.

From then on, every New Year's Eve, families would put up red couplets and set off firecrackers. Households were lit up and guarded the old man at all times. This custom spread more and more and became the grandest traditional festival in China, - "New Year's Eve".