What is the origin of China New Year? When did it start?

According to legend, there was a monster named Nian in ancient China, with long tentacles and a ferocious face. Nian lived on the seabed for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, eating livestock and hurting people's lives. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast. ; ; ; ; ; ; On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were taking refuge in the mountains when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on crutches, carrying a bag on his arm, with elegant silver whiskers and staring at Matthew. Some villagers sealed windows and locked doors, some packed their bags, some herded cattle and drove sheep, and people shouted hisses everywhere, which was a scene of panic. At this time, who still has the mind to take care of this begging old man? ; Only an old woman in the village east gave the old man some food and suggested that he go up the mountain quickly to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man smiled and said, "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the Nian beast away." The old woman looked at him carefully in surprise and found that he was handsome, energetic and different. But she continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. My mother-in-law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains. At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and bright candles in the room. The beast Nian trembled and let out a long whistle. Nian stared at her mother-in-law's house for a while, then screamed and rushed over. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the yard. Nian trembled and dared not go any further. It turns out that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Nian" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion. ; ; ; ; ; ; The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers the promise of begging for the elderly. Villagers flocked to the old woman's house, only to find red paper on her mother-in-law's door, a pile of unburned bamboo still exploding in the yard, and several red candles in the house still glowing ...; In order to celebrate the auspicious arrival, ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another and went to their relatives and friends' homes to congratulate and say hello. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast. ; ; ; ; ; ; Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China. This is the origin and time of China New Year. The old custom of Guanzhong Spring Festival is to stick honeydew melons. "Twenty-three, honey melon sticks, the chef is in heaven." In the past, people sacrificed stoves on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, offering sticky and sweet honeydew melons to the Kitchen God and sticking them on his mouth, so that he could "speak well in the sky and keep peace underground". Now I eat less sugar, let alone candied melons. The children don't know what this is. "Sticky honeydew melon" has basically disappeared in the city. In ancient times, the Spring Festival cleaning was called "Sweeping the Year". In the past, nursery rhymes said: "Twenty-three, honeydew melons are sticky; Twenty-four, housing Tomb-Sweeping Day ... "For busy modern people, the focus of cleaning years ago was probably cleaning the glass. On New Year's Eve, it is a common custom in China for the whole family to get together, have New Year's Eve dinner and chat around the stove to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Nowadays, it is false for people to keep their birthdays secret. It is true to find a chance to get together and have fun. Jiaozi jiaozi has been eating 1000 years, and jiaozi's original name is Jiao. Jiaozi is eaten on New Year's Eve. First, it is homophonic, "making friends with young people" to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Second, take its auspicious shape, because jiaozi looks like an ingot, which means "the way to make money". It's not difficult to eat jiaozi every day now, but you can't save the meal on the 30th. Because Bao jiaozi is an activity that can bring the whole family together, for the sake of reunion and excitement, eating is a secondary matter. The word "fu" is reversed in folklore. Zhu Yuanzhang memorized the word "fu" and prepared to kill people. In order to eliminate the disaster, the good-hearted Empress Ma asked all the families in the city to put "Fu" on their doors before dawn. If one of the families can't read, turn the word "fu" upside down. The emperor was furious when he heard this. Ma Huanghou immediately said to Zhu Yuanzhang, "The family knew that you were visiting today, and deliberately turned the word' Fu' upside down. Isn't this the meaning of "blessed road"? " The emperor ordered his release as soon as he heard the truth. In recent years, people are particularly fond of the word "Fu", and even the properties of newly-built residential areas have consciously invited the word "Fu" to the door of the owners. At the beginning of Spring Festival couplets, the first thing to do is to paste couplets to decorate the doors inside and outside the house. It is also interesting to post Spring Festival couplets at the entrance of the building. There are various forms of folk New Year greetings. For example, when visiting relatives, you must go to your parents' house on the first day of the New Year, and other close relatives are not limited. Now the time for New Year greetings is very flexible, but greetings such as "Congratulations on getting rich" and "All the best" are still preserved. Lucky money Every Spring Festival, elders often give lucky money to the younger generation, which indicates the year of the town, getting rid of illness, avoiding evil spirits, praying for blessings and so on. , is the elder's best wishes to the younger generation. The custom of giving lucky money has never been broken, but the more money you give now, I am afraid it will become a burden for your elders, and it will be difficult for children to know how to cherish it. Setting off firecrackers About firecrackers, it turned out that people used them to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters. Later, the components of exorcism gradually faded. Many cities have lifted the ban on setting off firecrackers. People can use firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and wish all the best.