The story of the Nian The legend of Lunar New Year 春节的起源以及春节的传统故事

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春节的起源以及春节的传统故事
The Origin and Traditional Stories of the Chinese Spring Festival

The Spring Festival, commonly known as "Lunar New Year," falls on the first day of the lunar calendar's first month. It is the most grand and festive traditional festival in Chinese culture and holds great significance for overseas Chinese communities.

Legend of the "Nian"

According to legend, in ancient China, there was a monster known as “Nian” “年” (also called “Xi" “夕”) that was fearsome in appearance, with a blue face, sharp fangs, and pointed horns and claws. It was incredibly ferocious and struck terror into people's hearts, earning the name "Nian Shou" “年兽” or "Year Beast." The "Year Beast" lived deep in the mountains throughout the year but would come down on the eve of the lunar new year to prey on livestock and harm human lives. As a result, people referred to this terrifying night as a critical moment, calling it "Nian Guan.”“年关”. On New Year's Eve, people would stay away from their homes to avoid the Year Beast's harm, and this practice became known as "celebrating the New Year.”

One year on New Year's Eve, as people were evacuating to the mountains to seek refuge, an elderly beggar arrived from outside the village. While everyone else was closing their doors and windows or preparing to leave, the village's elderly woman made dumplings and invited the beggar to eat. She advised him to hurry up and go to the mountains to hide from the Year Beast. In gratitude for the old woman's kindness, the beggar told her that the Year Beast was most afraid of the color red, firelight, and loud noises. He suggested she wear red clothes, paste red paper on her doors, light red candles, and burn bamboo in the courtyard to create loud noises.

In the middle of the night, the Year Beast entered the village. It found all the houses brightly lit with blinding red, and it was overwhelmed by the piercing red light. It also heard the loud sounds of firecrackers coming from various households. Frightened, it trembled and fled. This is the origin of "New Year's Eve" and "celebrating the New Year." From that point on, people learned how to drive away the Year Beast. Every New Year's Eve, families would post red couplets, set off firecrackers, keep their homes well-lit, and stay up all night, guarding against the Year Beast. On the first day of the lunar year, they would visit relatives and friends to convey their good wishes and congratulations for having survived the Year Beast's rampage. Over time, this tradition spread widely and became the most grand and festive traditional festival in Chinese culture.

The tradition of staying up late on New Year's Eve, known as "Shousui," originated during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, and many scholars from the Liang Dynasty wrote poems about staying up on this night. Lighting candles or oil lamps all night symbolized driving away evil spirits and diseases and welcoming a year of good fortune. This custom has been passed down through the ages.

Although ancient China had customs related to celebrating the new year, it was not called the Spring Festival at that time. The term "Spring Festival" originally referred to "Lichun," one of the twenty-four solar terms, which signifies the beginning of spring. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, the term "Spring Festival" was used to refer to the entire spring season. It was only after the 1911 Revolution (Xinhai Revolution), when China adopted the Gregorian calendar, that the lunar new year on the first day of the first lunar month was officially named the "Spring Festival" to distinguish it from the solar new year.

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