Chinese New Year
What exactly is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year is a famous celebration which is celebrated all over the world, but not only by Chinese people, as the name suggests, but also by many other countries, including Nepal, North and South Korea, The Philippines, Nepal and more! It is about celebrating a new year on the Lunar calendar and uniting family, but most importantly, having fun. Another way to say Chinese New Year is Lunar New Year. There are many ways people celebrate Lunar New Year, and it brings joy to families all over Asia. But in this article, I will be talking about the origins of it, and why red is the main colour that is displayed everywhere during this time.
The origins
The origins of Lunar New Year are heavily debated in this day and age by historians, as the exact date, month, or year, when it started was not recorded. Or, some people think, it was recorded, but where it was recorded was lost.
Many people think that the origins of Lunar New Year were from the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC), where they used to hold ceremonies after every Lunar Year to celebrate and worship ancestors, great leaders and gods.
A famous legend (RED)
There is a story that has been passed down for generations and generations, for centuries. It is about how the colour Red is so important to the traditions of celebrating Chinese New Year. So, let us dive in!
Long, long ago, in an ancient village in China, there was a vicious, fierce and hungry beast, who would come to the village, which was near the sea. The hungry beast was called Nian (年) and lived under the sea.
Nian had attacked the village for many years, and ate humans and livestock. It came at the end of every lunar year, and caused villagers to shut down stores early, secure livestock, and fled to the mountains to avoid being gobbled up by the creature.
Every year, the same thing would happen. But one year, something rather different happened.
An old, white-haired man had appeared at the village, and told a villager that he knew how to scare away Nian. News spread across the village, but nobody had believed him, and the villagers fled before nightfall.
The old man gave a sigh, and gathered what he needed.
Just like every year, Nian showed up, ready to gobble up its next meal. But the old man stood there, dressed in full red. The beast went into a full frenzy, going crazy. Then, the sound of firecrackers and fireworks surrounded the village. The beast was terrified. Nian started running. He never returned again.
The next day, the villagers discovered that none of the livestock had been eaten. This was a miracle!
What they didn’t know was that the old man was actually a celestial being, who had come to help them.
For the years later on, red lanterns were hung, red clothes were worn, firecrackers were lit, fireworks were lit, flares were fired.
And that, my friends, is why red is so important in Chinese New year.
I hope you have learnt a lot about Chinese New Year and will remember the information for a long time!
Photo credits (C) Scottish Confucius Institute
