史天彩

Chinese New Year （also called the Spring Festival） is the oldest traditional festival in China， but what is the origin behind the festival？ It could be traced back to a popular story of the Monster Nian， which helps to explain why and how the festival is celebrated.

According to the Chinese ancient legend， there was a violent and ugly monster named“Nian” with sharp teeth and horns. Living in the dark sea for a long time， the beast would climb up the shore by the end of the lunar year， hunting people and farm animals of a village. Therefore， every time before the New Years Eve， all the villagers would lock their doors before sunset and escape to remote mountains to avoid Nians attack.

One New Nears Eve， a beggar came to the village and changed the bad situation. The old man asked to stay one night in a grannys house. He promised he would expel（驅逐） away the frightening beast in reward. The granny agreed and escaped to the mountain alone.

At midnight， the monster broke into the village， but it sensed the change of the atmosphere. Approaching the house slowly， it found all the doors and windows pasted with red papers and many candles lit inside the house.

The beast trembled and howled， glaring at all strange things. At that moment， loud cracking sound burst in the courtyard， daunting（使胆怯） Nian not to dare come closer. The front door was opened in a flash， and the old man came out in red clothes， roaring with laughter（放声大笑）. The monster was badly frightened， running away through the dark night.

After that， villagers were enlightened by the truth that the bamboo burning cracking， red color and bright light were magic keys to scare away the monster.

Since then， on every New Years Eve， villagers would celebrate the triumph over the monster. People always pasted red spring couplets （贴对联）， hung lanterns and set off fireworks. They dressed in new and visited neighbors to share the joy. Everyone was immersed（沉浸） in happiness.

The traditions are passed on from one generation to another till today. According to the story， Chinese New Years Day is also called “Guo Nian”， which means “surviving the Nian”. The red also becomes the most popular color for festival celebration.