Folk stories about the Spring Festival

According to legend, there was a monster named Nian in ancient China, with long Bluetooth and sharp claws, which was extremely fierce. I have lived in the mountains for many years, and I only go down to devour livestock on New Year's Eve every year, which hurts people's lives. Therefore, on New Year's Eve, every family leaves home to avoid the harm of Nian beast, which is called "China New Year".

On New Year's Eve, people are helping the old and taking the young into the mountains to take refuge, and an old beggar comes from outside the village. Some people sealed windows and locked doors, others packed their bags, and there was a panic everywhere. No one cares about the begging old man. Only an old woman in the village east wrapped up jiaozi, invited the old man to dinner, and urged him to hurry up the mountain to avoid Nian beast. In order to repay the kindness of the old woman, the old man told her that she was most afraid of red, fire and explosion every year, and asked her to put on red clothes, put red paper on the door, light red candles and burn bamboo in the yard to explode.

At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. He found that the village was brightly lit, his eyes were blinded by dazzling red, and he heard loud firecrackers coming from someone's house, so he ran away trembling all over. Since then, people have known the way to drive away the New Year. Every New Year's Eve, every family sticks red couplets and sets off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day of the lunar new year, we will go to relatives and friends to congratulate each other and to congratulate each other on surviving the ravages of Nian beast. Later, this custom spread more and more widely and became the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.