The Spring Festival, also known as the New Year, is one of the traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. Now not only china is passing, but the festival has spread to the world.
So how did the year come about, let's talk about several legends of the year, one of the most widely circulated legends is the nian beast.
According to legend, in ancient China, there was a monster called "Nian", with a head with long tentacles and fierceness. "Nian" has been living deep in the sea for many years, and every Chinese New Year's Eve it is time to climb ashore and eat livestock to harm people's lives. Therefore, every Chinese New Year's Eve day, the people of the villages and villages help the old and the young to flee to the mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.
One year Chinese New Year's Eve, the people of Peach Blossom Village were hurrying up the mountain to take refuge, and an old man begging from outside the village saw him on crutches, his arms in his pockets, his silver whiskers fluttering, and his eyes were like stars. Some of the villagers sealed the windows and locked the doors, some packed their bags, some led the cattle and herded sheep, and people shouted horses everywhere, a scene of haste and panic.
At this time, who still has the heart to take care of this begging old man. Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to quickly go up the mountain to avoid the "Nian" beast, and the old man smiled and said, "If the mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely take the Nian beast away." The old woman looked at him in shock and saw that he had a childlike appearance, a strong spirit, and an extraordinary spirit.
But she continued to persuade, begging the old man to laugh and say nothing. The mother-in-law had no choice but to leave her home and take refuge in the mountains.
In the middle of the night, the "Nian" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village, the door was pasted with big red paper, and the candles in the house were bright.
The "Nian" beast trembled and screamed strangely. "Nian" glared at her mother-in-law's house for a moment, then screamed and pounced. When approaching the door, there was a sudden explosion sound of "banging and popping" in the courtyard, and "Nian" trembled and did not dare to move forward anymore. It turned out that "Nian" was most afraid of red, fire and explosion.
At this time, the door of the mother-in-law's house was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe in the courtyard laughing. "Nian" was horrified and fled.
The next day was the first day of the first lunar month, and the people who had returned from the asylum were amazed to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized, and hurriedly told the villagers about the promise of begging the old man.
The villagers rushed to the old woman's house together, only to see that the door of the mother-in-law's house was pasted with red paper, a pile of unburned bamboo in the courtyard was still "snapping" and exploding, and several red candles in the house were still glowing...; In order to celebrate the auspicious coming, the ecstatic villagers changed into new clothes and hats, and went to the homes of relatives and friends to say hello. Word soon spread in the surrounding villages, and everyone knew how to drive away the Nian beast.
Since then, every year Chinese New Year's Eve, every household has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers; every household has a bright candle and waits for the age. Early in the morning of the first day of the first year, I also have to go to relatives and friends to say hello. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival of Chinese folk "New Year".
Knowledge supplementation
The earliest way of writing the word "year" is the image of a person carrying a mature grass, indicating that the crops are ripe, that is, "nian cheng". In ancient times, the so-called "annualization" refers to this. Therefore, the ancient calligraphy put the word "year" in the grass department. Since the grain is generally one year old and one ripe, the "year" and the year have the same cycle in the number of dates. In ancient times, the Central Plains and tibetans were all New Year's Festivals, which later became New Year's Eve (the saying is still "New Year").
Another legend is
Nian, in ancient Chinese legend, is the god who destroyed the ferocious monster Xi. Xi came to hurt people on the night of the thirtieth day of the waxing moon, and the Year of the Immortals worked together with the people to drive away "Xi" by setting off firecrackers. In order to commemorate the merits of the year, people call the thirty days "Chinese New Year's Eve", that is, the beast is removed, and in order to commemorate the "year", the first day of the first year is called the New Year.