梗概

The Origin of Chinese New Year

Long ago，people lived happily in a peaceful village．However，on the last night of one year，a monster called “Nian”（“Year”）wreaked havoc there．Although the villagers tried their best to get rid of Nian，they failed and many of them left home instead．

Once Nian rushed into the now-empty village．The last family in the village was terrified，and Father cried，“Flee！Do not take anything！Nian is coming！”Nevertheless，Mother held unto some items，including a big copper basin，as she ran．She had too many things，however，and could not run anymore just as Nian rushed over to their direction，Father flung Mother’s things unto the floor as they ran for their lives．“Kuang dong！”went the copper basin．

Father turned around and saw Nian standing next to the basin looking scared．Terrified，Nian fled the village and did not dare to turn up again．

Because the family had chased away Nian，villagers who had left before happily returned．The first thing that everyone said when he or she saw each other was “Guo Nian Hao！”meaning “Happy New Year”．This phrase means that they had already passed that terrible period．The villagers also mimicked the sound of the basins by inventing firecrackers ．During Spring Festival，people light firecrackers and “Bai Nian，”or say，“Guo Nian Hao！”to each other to insure a peaceful and happy New Year．