What is the story of Nian Chinese New Year?
According to a Chinese legend a terrible monster (pictured sometimes with features of a lion, unicorn, and ox), a really giant, monstrous creature by the name of ‘Nian’ lived in the mountains and would come down at the end of the year to destroy the fields, crops and animals and to terrorize people or even kill them …
Why is the story of Nian so important?
Many existing customs and activities of the festival actually can be traced back to a popular story of the Monster Nian, which helps to explain why and how the festival is celebrated. According to the ancient Chinese legend, in ancient time, there was a ferocious monster named “Nian” with sharp teeth and horns.
What does Nian have to do with Chinese New Year?
A nian (Chinese: 年獸; pinyin: nián shòu) is a beast in Chinese mythology. Nian live under the sea or in the mountains. The Chinese character nian more usually means “year” or “new year”. The earliest written sources that refer to the nian as a creature date to the early 20th century.
Why is Chinese New Year called Guo Nian?
The Nian retreated to the mountains or under the sea from where it came. But they will never test fate again. As long as they perform these tasks every year, they can keep the Nian at bay. That’s why Chinese New Year is known as Guo Nian, which means “crossing the Nian.”
What did Nian look like?
Long, long ago in ancient China, there was a fierce beast called “Nian”. Its head looked like a lion with a sharp horn on it which could be used to attack its prey. It lived at the bottom of the sea most of the time and would go ashore only on the last day of the lunar year to eat people and livestock.
How do the Chinese celebrate the Chinese New Year?
The main Chinese New Year activities include 1) putting up decorations, 2) offering sacrifices to ancestors, 3) eating reunion dinner with family on New Year’s Eve, 4) giving red envelopes and other gifts, 5) firecrackers and fireworks, and 6) watching lion and dragon dances.
What does Nian represent?
How old is the story of Nian?
The old Chinese word “Nian” translates to “ripe grains.” This word dates back more than three thousand years to oracle bone inscriptions inscribed with astronomical records during the 14th Century B.C. Shang Dynasty. Before the Gregorian Calendar, a good harvest or the process of a harvest was considered a year.
Is Nian a lion?
Who is Nian Chinese New Year Legend?
Share this page: The Story of Nian Chinese New Year Legend Long ago in China there was a man-eating monster called Nian who for most of the time slept at the bottom of the ocean.
Many of the traditions are inherited till today. According to the story, Chinese New Year’s Day or the Spring Festival is also called “Guo Nian”, which means surviving in the Nian’s attack. The red becomes the most popular color for festival celebration and dressing code.
What is the story of Nian?
Long ago in China there was a man-eating monster called Nian who for most of the time slept at the bottom of the ocean. However at the end of winter, on the last day of the lunar year, the hungry Nian would terrify everyone when he woke up to come on land to eat whatever he could find.
What is the meaning of the Chinese word Nian?
In the pinyin name, the “- nian ” in there means “year,” but it is derived from the name of a ferocious beast in Chinese mythology. Keep in mind for the following story that the Chinese years are based on the moon phase and the time of the solar year; it is a lunisolar calendar.