成人快手

Follow the legend of Chinese New Year and learn why people wear red, light firecrackers and bang drums on this special day.

Chinese New Year

The monster Nian stalks through the forest.

Once upon a time, in China ( Zhōng Guó), there was a fierce monster called Nian ( 狈颈á苍) with long, sharp teeth and giant claws.

The monster Nian terrorises the village, making a mess and scaring the villagers.

At the end of the lunar year, Nian would go to the villages to hunt for food ( shí wù).

Nian liked to eat ( 肠丑ī) anything he could lay his claws on, and with each visit Nian ruined people’s homes and crops.

The villagers hide from Nian in the mountains.

The people feared Nian and would hide in the mountains ( 蝉丑ā苍) at the end of the lunar year.

They would not return to the village until Nian left.

An old man tells the people about Nian's fears around a campfire.

One day, an old man with grey ( huī sè de) hair and a long, white ( bái sè de) beard came down from the mountains.

He told them Nian was afraid of three things:

  • loud noises
  • the colour red ( hóng sè)
  • fire ( 丑耻ǒ)
The villagers use the colour read, loud noises from firecrackers and fire to scare Nian away.

On Nian's next visit, they banged drums, wore the colour red ( hóng sè) and lit firecrackers ( yān huā) to scare Nian away.

The monster never came back.

The villagers wear red with lanterns, drums and food on Chinese New Year.

People do this each year to celebrate Nian's defeat.

The last day of the lunar year is called Chinese New Year’s Eve ( Chú Xī).

The first day of the new lunar year is called Chinese New Year or Spring Festival ( Chūn Jié).

Key Mandarin words

MandarinPinyinEnglish
Chūn JiéChinese New Year or Spring Festival
Chú XīChinese New Year's Eve
hóng sèred
丑耻ǒfire
苍颈á苍year
蝉丑ā苍mountains
yān huāfirecrackers
Zhōng GuóChina
The monster Nian.

Did you know?

In the legend of the Chinese New Year the monster is called Nian ( 狈颈á苍).

In Mandarin, 苍颈á苍 also means 'year'.

More on Songs and stories

Find out more by working through a topic