Follow the legend of Chinese New Year and learn why people wear red, light firecrackers and bang drums on this special day.
Once upon a time, in China (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Zh¨ng Gu¨®), there was a fierce monster called Nian (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ±·¾±¨¢²Ô) with long, sharp teeth and giant claws.
At the end of the lunar year, Nian would go to the villages to hunt for food (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. sh¨ª w¨´).
Nian liked to eat (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ³¦³ó¨©) anything he could lay his claws on, and with each visit Nian ruined people¡¯s homes and crops.
The people feared Nian and would hide in the mountains (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ²õ³ó¨¡²Ô) at the end of the lunar year.
They would not return to the village until Nian left.
One day, an old man with grey (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. hu¨© s¨¨ de) hair and a long, white (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. b¨¢i s¨¨ de) beard came down from the mountains.
He told them Nian was afraid of three things:
- loud noises
- the colour red (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. h¨®ng s¨¨)
- fire (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ³ó³Ü¨¯)
On Nian's next visit, they banged drums, wore the colour red (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. h¨®ng s¨¨) and lit firecrackers (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. y¨¡n hu¨¡) to scare Nian away.
The monster never came back.
People do this each year to celebrate Nian's defeat.
The last day of the lunar year is called Chinese New Year¡¯s Eve (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Ch¨² X¨©).
The first day of the new lunar year is called Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Ch¨±n Ji¨¦).
Key Mandarin words
Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
---|---|---|
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Ch¨±n Ji¨¦ | Chinese New Year or Spring Festival |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Ch¨² X¨© | Chinese New Year's Eve |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | h¨®ng s¨¨ | red |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | ³ó³Ü¨¯ | fire |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | ²Ô¾±¨¢²Ô | year |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | ²õ³ó¨¡²Ô | mountains |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | y¨¡n hu¨¡ | firecrackers |
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Zh¨ng Gu¨® | China |
Did you know?
In the legend of the Chinese New Year the monster is called Nian (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ±·¾±¨¢²Ô).
In Mandarin, Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. ²Ô¾±¨¢²Ô also means 'year'.
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