An ancient Chinese legend tells of a man-eating predatory beast called Nian, extremely fierce, with a long head and sharp horn. Nian dwelled deep in the sea the whole year long, but on every Chinese New Year’s Eve it would climb onto the shore to devour livestock and harm humans in a near-by village. Therefore, every Chinese New Year’s Eve, all the villagers would take their old and young deep into the mountains to hide from Nian.
The Legend of Chinese New Year’s Monster Nian
Celebrating the Chinese New Year should be called passing of Nian or Guo Nian in Chinese. However the term was gradually changed to Spring Festival after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949. Gradually people have forgotten the legend behind these Chinese New Year traditions. In its 2006 Chinese New Year shows, NTDTV actually put the ancient story of the Nian monster on stage.