The Legend of the Nian
Once upon a time, in a small village in ancient China, there lived a fearsome creature known as the Nian. The Nian was a ferocious beast with the body of a bull, the head of a lion, and sharp horns on its forehead. It lived deep in the sea or in the mountains, only emerging on the last day of the lunar year to terrorize the villagers.
Every year, as the New Year approached, the villagers would flee to the mountains in fear of the Nian. The beast would rampage through the village, devouring livestock, destroying homes, and causing chaos. No one dared to confront the Nian, and the villagers could only hope to survive the night and return to their devastated village the next day.
One year, an old man visited the village on the eve of the New Year. As the villagers prepared to flee, he refused to hide in the mountains and decided to get revenge on the Nian. He put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and found that their homes were untouched. They realized that loud noises, fire, and the color red, which the Nian was afraid of, could keep the beast away.
From then on, every New Year's Eve, the villagers would gather together, paste red paper on their doors and windows, light up their houses with fire, and stay up all night, setting off firecrackers. The Nian was never seen again in the village, and the people lived in peace.
This story is the origin of many Chinese New Year traditions, such as the use of red decorations, the giving of red envelopes (hongbao), and the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year.
