The ancient Chinese used a lunar calendar. Most people just celebrate the holiday without really knowing why.Īnother interesting thing about Chinese New Year is that very few people know when this holiday is celebrated without looking at a traditional Chinese calendar because it never falls on the same day. This is only one idea about how Chinese New Year began, there are many other ideas about how this celebration began. They also set off firecrackers to scare away the horrible beast. Before the old man left for good, he told the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at the beginning of each new year because the color red scared the beast.

The people of the village were very grateful to the old man for giving them a peaceful life. The old man rode away on Nian's back, and as it turns out, the man was an immortal god. Nian followed the old man's request and all of the beasts were chased into the forest. Of course, the people were very frightened by this monster and so a brave old man went up to the beast and said to him that instead of eating the people of the villages, he should eat the other beasts that frightened these people. One idea is that the holiday originated when a beast named Nian (which means year in Chinese) came out the night before the new year and started to prey on the people in the villages.

The exact origin of this holiday is too old to be traced, but many explanations still exist. It originally lasted for about 4 weeks, but now only lasts for 3-5 days. It is a time when families and friends get together to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new.

It is often referred to as the spring festival because it signals the beginning of spring. Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday celebrated among Chinese people.

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