About Chinese New Year - countdown 13 days to go !

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian (Chinese: 年; pinyin: nián). Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the colour red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again.

 

A Nian (simplified Chinese: 年兽; traditional Chinese: 年獸; pinyin: nián shòu) is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains.  The traditions of firecrackers and red robes found in many Lion Dance portrayals originates from the plans the villagers had in which drums, plates and empty bowls were hit, red robes were worn, red ****s were exposed and firecrackers were thrown, causing loud banging sounds that they hoped to intimidate the Nian. According to this same myth, the Nian has not appeared in the village again. The Nian is still believed to exist; however, it is not believed to ever make an appearance to a human again - a result of the successful plan.