January 25, 2020.

The year of 100 festivals is the first, the Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the Chinese nation, which not only focuses on the ideological beliefs, ideal aspirations, life and entertainment and cultural psychology of the Chinese people, but also a carnival-like display of prayers, food and entertainment activities. Influenced by Chinese culture, some countries and regions in the world also have the custom of celebrating the New Year.

The Spring Festival is known as one of the four major traditional festivals in China, together with the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Spring Festival folklore was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

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Legends about the Spring Festival

Folklore says that during the Spring Festival, a beast called the Nian (年) will come out of the wild in winter, also known as the "Xi" (夕). The beast of the year once a year, this day is called "over the year" (the year is coming), will be over the year this night called "in addition to the evening" (in addition to the evening).

The beast of the New Year, "Xi", is very ferocious, and in the middle of the night, it would go to every house to eat people, and the ancestors of the Yellow River, in order to avoid the New Year, the family reunion together, sat around to resist the beast of the New Year. Because the beast of the year once a year, the ancestors of the Yellow River in its countless struggles, figured out the tricks of the struggle, although the beast of the year fierce, but afraid of red, fire and loud noise.

So, every family in the doorway on the red spring couplets, in front of the door to set off bonfires, firecrackers, the beast saw the door on the door with red couplets, the door has a red fire, firecrackers, thunder and chaos, and elders will pay tribute to the New Year, it drove away the beast of the year.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese New Year