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Nian-The New Year Monster
Nian- The Chinese Character for "Year", the New Year Monster.
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Nian-
The New Year Monster |
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Nian
in Chinese simply means 'year'. However, it is widely accepted
that the origin of this word comes from the mythical monster
that would come and terrorise humans around the time of
the New Year. Indeed, so fierce was Nian that it threatened
to destroy mankind. The Emperor summoned a wise man to
solve this problem. Seeing at first hand the destruction
Nian brought, the wise man approached Nian with a challenge. "Why
do you choose to kill and destroy the humans who are no
match for your strength?" he asked. "Prove your
real power by destroying the other monsters of the earth." |
| Nian took up this challenge,
and one year later, having destroyed all the monsters
of the earth, he returned to terrorise mankind. However,
the day he returned some children were playing with
firecrackers, and they noticed that Nian was afraid
of the noise. From then on each New Year firecrackers
and other fireworks are used to scare away the last
remaining monster of the earth - Nian. |
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