The origin of New Year's Eve and the legend of New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve 2017 is coming soon. Do you know the origin of New Year’s Eve? Next, let’s learn some basic knowledge about New Year’s Eve.

The Origin of New Year's Eve

legend

Regarding the origin of "New Year's Eve", legend has it that in ancient times there was a monster called Xi, with tentacles on its head. It was extremely ferocious and often devoured livestock and harmed human lives. On New Year's Eve one year, the villagers were taking their elderly and children to the mountains for refuge. At this time, a half-grown child came from outside the village. The child had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was pretty and lovely. The child came to the east end of the village and met an old woman and asked her why everyone was panicking. The old woman had no choice but to tell the child that Xi had come to cause trouble again. The child laughed and said, "Grandma, my name is Nian. Let me stay at home for one night, and I will definitely drive the beast Xi away." The old woman agreed and went up the mountain to take refuge. In the middle of the night, "Xi" broke into the village. I found that at the old woman’s house at the east end of the village, there was a big red paper pasted on the door and the house was brightly lit with candles. The "Xi" beast trembled all over and let out a strange cry. He glared at his mother-in-law's house for a moment, then rushed over screaming. When he was near the door, there were sudden "bang bang bang" sounds in the yard. "Xi" trembled all over and dared not move forward anymore. It turns out that "Xi" is most afraid of the color red, fire, and explosions. At this time, my mother-in-law's door opened wide, and I saw a middle-aged man in a red robe laughing in the yard. "Xi" was horrified and fled in a panic.

The next day, the people who had returned from the refugee camp were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about Nian. This incident soon spread to the surrounding villages, and people all knew how to drive away the "Xi" beast. So everyone went to pay their respects to Nian, which is now known as "Bainian" (the origin of Bainian), and then put pictures of Nian on the doors or windows, which were called New Year pictures (the big fat boy in the New Year pictures was Nian). The day after Nian got rid of the New Year was called New Year's Eve (the origin of New Year's Eve). From then on, every New Year’s Eve, every family would put up red couplets and set off firecrackers; every house would be brightly lit with candles, and everyone would stay up to wait for the new year. Early in the morning on the first day of the New Year, people visit relatives and friends to congratulate and say hello. This custom spread more and more widely and became the most solemn traditional festival among the Chinese people, "Chinese New Year".