In traditional Chinese culture, the "year" is not only a unit of time, but also carries rich folk customs and profound cultural connotations. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household will be immersed in a festive atmosphere and prepare to welcome the arrival of the "New Year". But there is an ancient and interesting legend about the origin of the "year".
The legend of the year. Once upon a time, in a distant village, the villagers were infested with a ferocious monster every winter. This monster is called Nian", and with its hideous face and sharp claws, it will come down the mountain to attack the village, devour livestock, and even harm the villagers on Chinese New Year's Eve. The villagers live in fear and flee their homes early at this time of year to escape the invasion of the "Nian".
One year, however, an old man with gray hair came to the village. He told the villagers that he was able to ** "years". Although the villagers were skeptical, they still followed the instructions of the old man and stayed in the village on Chinese New Year's Eve. When night fell, the old man led the villagers to the entrance of the village, lit a roaring bonfire, and beat the deafening gongs and drums. Suddenly, the "year" appeared, but it was frightened by the bonfire and the sound of gongs and drums. Since then, every Chinese New Year's Eve, villagers will light bonfires and sound gongs and drums to drive away the "New Year".
years of history continuing.
Although "Nian" is just a legend, the Chinese have long attached importance to and celebrated the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, is one of the most important traditional festivals in China and has a history of thousands of years. During this festival, people return to their hometowns to reunite with their families and celebrate the New Year together.
During the Spring Festival, every household will put up lanterns and paste Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters, implying auspiciousness, happiness and health. Fireworks are also set off to ward off evil spirits and welcome the New Year. In addition, eating Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, making dumplings, and greeting the New Year are also indispensable traditional customs during the Spring Festival.
With the passage of time, the form and content of the Spring Festival celebration have been constantly enriched and developed. Nowadays, the Spring Festival is not only a time for family reunion, but also a grand festival for a country and a nation to celebrate. During the Spring Festival every year, various celebrations are held across the country, such as dragon and lion dances, drumming, firecrackers, etc., creating a strong festive atmosphere.
In addition to China, thirteen other countries around the world also celebrate the Year of China: Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar. These countries are all countries in the Chinese character circle, and have similar cultural traditions and historical backgrounds to China. Although the Spring Festival celebrations in these countries may be different in terms of methods and forms, they all reflect the inheritance and development of Chinese culture. Among them, although Japan has changed the Chinese year to ** year (the current Gregorian calendar) since the Meiji Restoration, the Spring Festival is still an important traditional festival and is called the "first month". In South Korea and North Korea, the Spring Festival is known as "Old Zheng" and, like China, is one of the most important traditional festivals. Vietnam's Spring Festival is celebrated in a similar way to China, with holidays, New Year's greetings, and Spring Festival couplets. In other countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, the Chinese community still celebrates the Chinese New Year in a traditional way, even though the main ethnic group is only celebrating the Chinese New Year. In short, the Spring Festival has become a worldwide festival, which has been widely inherited and developed not only in China, but also around the world.