According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called Nian, who had the body of a bull and the head of a lion. It was said to be a wild and ferocious animal whom lived in the mountains and hunted for a living.
Towards the end of Winter when there was nothing to eat, Nian would come down from the mountain on the first day of New Year to the villages 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 of the villagers and let the children be.
As terrified as they were doing the winter time the villagers found three things that the Nian was afraid of: the color red, fire, and noise.
So when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. They also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. According to legend, the Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk, and Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.
After Nian was captured, everyone had a big celebration and the ritual involved in banishing him was repeated the following year, and so the ritual was passed down from generation to generation and the custom of celebrating New Year with firecrackers, noise, and the colour red has persisted to this day.
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Myths and Legends
SonstigesHere I will share with you all a collection of myths and legends. Which vary from new to old, maybe even ancient stories. i will also include tales of mythical creatures and beings. The tales I tell come from different cultures and parts of the worl...
