Jingchuan County belongs to Pingliang City, Gansu Province, there are many stories or legends about the Jingchuan Spring Festival, the following is a legend about the Jingchuan Spring Festival:
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster called "Nian" that would come out every Lunar New Year to harm people and livestock. In order to avoid the harm of the "New Year", people will close their doors and windows every New Year's Eve and dare not go out.
One year, a wise man came to Jingchuan, and he told people that Nian was most afraid of red, fire, and sound. Therefore, people put red Spring Festival couplets, hung red lanterns, and set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve, using these methods to drive away the "New Year".
Sure enough, when Nian saw these red and firelight, and heard these sounds, he was too frightened to approach. Since then, people have followed these customs every Lunar New Year to drive away ** and pray for peace and happiness.
Although this legend is just a folk tale, it reflects people's fear of ** forces and their yearning for peace and happiness.
In Jingchuan, there are many other traditional customs during the Spring Festival, such as New Year's greetings and spring sweeping
Flower lanterns, dragon and lion dances, etc., all express people's good wishes and expectations for the New Year.