What's in an English handbill about the Spring FestivalHow to write an English handbill about the Spring Festival

1.TheChineseNewYearisnowpopularlyknownastheSpringFestivalbecauseitstartsfromtheBeginingofSpring(thefirstofthetwenty- fourtermsincoodinationwiththechangesofNature).Itsoriginistoooldtobetraced.Severalexplanationsarehangingaround.Allagree,however, that the wordNian,whichincludes the word "Nian," is not the same as the word "Nian. Itsoriginistoooldtobetraced.Severalexplanationsarehangingaround.Allagree,however,thatthewordNian,whichinmodernChinesesolelymeansyear. wasoriginallythenameofamonsterbeastthatstartedtopreyonpeoplethenightbeforethebeginningofanewyear.

OnelegendgoesthatthebeastNianhadaverybigmouththatwouldswallowagreatmanypeoplewithonebite.Peoplewereveryscared. anoldmancametotheirrescue,offeringtosubdueNian.ToNianhesaid,Ihearsaythatyouareverycapable,butcanyouswallowtheother butcanyouswallowtheotherbeastsofpreyonearthinsteadofpeoplewhoarebynomeansofyourworthyopponents?So, itdidswallowmanyofthemanyofyourworthyopponents? itdidswallowmanyofthebeastsofpreyonearththatalsoharrassedpeopleandtheirdomesticanimalsfromtimetotime.

Afterthat. theoldmandisappearedridingthebeastNian.Heturnedouttobeanimmortalgod.NowthatNianisgoneandotherbeastsofpreyarealsoscaredintoforests, peoplebegintoenjoytheirpeacefullife.Beforetheoldmanleft, hehadtoldpeopletoputupredpaperdecorationsontheirwindowsanddoorsateachyearsendtoscareawayNianincaseitsneakedbackagain,becauseredisthecolortortege becauseredisthecolorthebeastfearedthemost.

Fromthenon. thetraditionofobservingtheconquestofNianiscarriedonfromgenerationtogeneration.ThetermGuoNian, whichmaymeanSurvivalNian, is the most important of all. whichmaymeanSurvivetheNianbecomestodayCelebratethe(New)YearasthewordguoinChinesehavingboththemeaningofpass-overandobserve. Thecustomofputtingupredpaperandfiringfire-crackerstoscareawayNianshouldithaveachancetorunlooseisstillaround.However, the peopletodayhavelongforgottenwhytheyaredoingallthis,exceptthattheyfeelthecolorandthesoundaddtotheexcitementofthecelebration.

2. The Chinese New Year is now universally known as the Spring Festival, because it begins in spring (the first of the twenty-four solar terms harmonized with the changes of nature). Its origins are too ancient to be traced. Several explanations are being circulated. However, everyone agrees that the only meaning of the word "nian" in modern Chinese is "year", which was originally the name of a monster that began to prey on humans the night before the New Year.

Legend has it that the beast had a big mouth and could swallow many people in one bite. People were very afraid. One day, an old man came to their rescue and offered to subdue Nian. He said to the year, "I've heard you're very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of the earth and not those who are no match for you at all?" And so it did swallow many of the beasts of the earth, which also tormented people and their domestic animals from time to time.

After that, the old man disappeared riding the Year of the Beast. He turned out to be an immortal god. Now that Nian was gone, the other beasts were scared into the forest and the people began to enjoy their peaceful lives. Before the old man left, he had told the people that at the end of each year they should hang red paper decorations on their doors and windows to scare away the year beast and prevent it from slipping back, because red is the color that the beasts fear most.

Since then, the tradition of observing the New Year's Eve has been passed down from generation to generation. The word "Niannian", which means "New Year's Eve", has become "New Year's Eve" today, because the word "过" has both "过" and "过" in Chinese. In Chinese, the word "过" means both "to pass" and "to pass". The custom of sticking red paper and setting off firecrackers to scare away the New Year beasts still exists. However, people today have long forgotten why they do it, except that they find the colors and sounds add to the excitement of the celebration.