The Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. The Spring Festival, the common people also call it the New Year. In fact, traditionally, the Spring Festival lasts from the 23rd or 24th day of the twelfth month of the previous year's lunar calendar to the 15th day of the first lunar month of the following year. In 2024, the Spring Festival holiday in China will be from the first day of the first month to the eighth day of the first month.
According to historical records, the earliest Spring Festival originated in the Yin Shang period (1600 BC and 1100 BC). As early as the Han Dynasty, emperors would hold New Year's festivals on the eve of the Spring Festival to pray for the harmony of heaven and earth and thank the gods for bringing people a good harvest.
There are also many legends about the origin of the Chinese New Year, among which there is a name"years"The story of the monster. According to legend, in ancient China, there was a name called"years"of monsters, with long antennae and sharp teeth; The eyes are fierce and fierce. Whenever there is a shortage of food in the cold and frozen mountains, it will run out of the mountains and into the villages to harass the people, not only eating livestock and poultry, but also sometimes eating people, causing panic among the people. Later, people were working with"years"found in the struggle"years"There are three major weaknesses: one is afraid of red, the second is afraid of fire, and the third is afraid of sound. So the people discussed, and in the next deep winter, every family would burn a pile of bamboo outside the yard and hang bright red wooden boards at the door. Sure enough, when"years"When it went down the mountain again to look for its prey, it couldn't open its eyes with the fiery red planks and flames, and the deafening sound of burning bamboo made it nowhere to escape"years"I had to flee back to the mountains and never came back. The next day, people went out to celebrate each other as a sign of escape"years"of violations. The monster "Nian" is also called "Xi", so the day before the Spring Festival is also called "Chinese New Year's Eve".
After that, people repeated these activities every year and avoided them"years"Descend again. Passed down from generation to generation, the custom of the New Year has been handed down. Therefore, the Chinese have the custom of setting off firecrackers, hanging red lanterns and pasting red spring couplets during the New Year.
in Chinese""New Year" exists"Escaped for a year"Again"Celebrate the New Year"Two meanings.