Exclusive reveal why the end of the lunar year is called Chinese New Year s Eve .

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-06

Chinese New Year's Eve, also known as Chinese New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve.

Three. 10. The 30th day of the Chinese New Year's Eve is a traditional Chinese festival, and the festival time is generally on the 29th or 30th day of the twelfth lunar month every year.

Regarding the origin of "Chinese New Year's Eve", it is estimated that many people have heard of the legend about "Chinese New Year's Eve". This well-known legend is not what I want to focus on today, but I want to talk about another, more real origin.

First, let's review this legend that is no longer mysterious. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a vicious monster called "Xi", which would come out at the end of the year to harm people, causing the people to live in fear. Later, it was discovered that the monster "Yu" was afraid of red, fire, and loud noises. Therefore, at the end of each year, every household will paste red Spring Festival couplets and set off firecrackers to drive away the "night" beast and pray for a safe and sound new year. This custom has gradually passed down, and the last day of the year is called "Chinese New Year's Eve".

This is the well-known version of the origin of "Chinese New Year's Eve", and the legend will be put aside below, and we will talk about another more credible version.

Chinese New Year's Eve, it was the last night of the year. The last day at the end of the year is called "dividing the year", which means that the old year is divided here and the new year is replaced. Remove, that is, the meaning of removal; Xi refers to night. "Chinese New Year's Eve" means the night of the New Year.

According to historical records, the earliest use of the name "Chinese New Year's Eve" in the literature is the famous local customs of the Western Jin Dynasty "Fengtu Ji", which is recorded as follows: "On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, everyone gives gifts, called 'Gift Year';The old and young gather together, and the blessings are complete, which is called 'dividing the year';Sleepless all year round, waiting for the dawn, called 'keeping the year'. "With the passage of time, people began to refer to the day before Chinese New Year's Eve as Xiaozhi, that is, Xiao's Chinese New Year's Eve, and Chinese New Year's Eve itself was honored as Dazhi, that is, Da Chinese New Year's Eve.

According to the records of Lü's Spring and Autumn and Ji Dongji, the ancients would hold a grand ceremony on the day before the New Year. By beating drums, they tried to banish the evil spirits known as the "plague ghosts". It is said that this was also a custom of people on Chinese New Year's Eve at that time.

Although the above is a different version of the origin of Chinese New Year's Eve, they all contain people's good expectations for the New Year and deep respect for life. Whether it's a mystical legend or a historical record, they all tell us about the extraordinary significance of this special occasion.

Friendly reminder:From 2025 onwards, there will be no Chinese New Year's Eve for 5 consecutive years, because from 2025 until 2029, Chinese New Year's Eve for five consecutive years will be "New Year's Eve".

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