The Story of Chineses New Year

It was said that long long time ago, there lived a horrible beast named" Nian" in the mountain. Every year, on the first day of the year, which is the first new moon of the year, the beast would awaken and descend upon the village. He would eat all the grains and the animals on the farm, and most scary, even the unprotected children.

The villagers lived in fear of this beast and always locked up their houses on this night to protect their families.

One year, right before the new year, an old man visited the village. After hearing the story, he turned to the villagers and asked, " Why do you so fear this beast? You are so many and he is but one. Surely he could not be able to hurt you all."

The old man who was also very wise told the villagers, "The beast is easily scared. He does not like the color red. He fears loud noises and strange creatures. So when he comes tonight,