Chinese Mythological Roots: How Chinese People Face Monsters Named Nian

Photo illustration (Macau Photo Agency / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - There are many magical mythologies that explain the origin of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The most widely related is a monster named Nian, which means "year" in Chinese.

Nian is told as a monster hiding in the mountains. Another version depicts Nian living under the sea. It comes out once a year in winter to feast on the crops and villagers.

However, Nian's appearance caused fear. The families gathered the night Nian arrived, staying up all night waiting for the threats to pass. This is what becomes the start of the Shou Sui ceremony on New Year's Eve, when many families stay up all night together.

Chinese New Year Ornaments (Rizki Oceano / Unsplash)

Over time, people began to understand what Nian's weakness was. They found that Nian was weak against fire, red color and loud sounds. Hence people began to put up pictures and red lanterns, light fires and set off firecrackers.

These methods succeeded in scaring Nian. This custom has been preserved as a celebration of defeating monsters to this day.

Different versions

Launching SCMP, Wednesday, February 10, there are many versions of this story. The main difference is that these monsters have various names.

And the story combines various Chinese New Year ceremonies into a different plot. But, on the one hand, all the objectives are the same, namely fighting monsters.

Based on the name, of course we can guess that Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar new year. But the seasonal celebration that finally marks the new year's celebration, the Spring Festival, was celebrated even before the lunar calendar existed.

Some scholars believe that in ancient China, before the first Xia dynasty, the original form of the Spring Festival already existed. In the era of agrarian society, tribal leaders would gather people at the end of the harvest season for great festivities and ritual prayers, expressing gratitude to gods and ancestors.

That is the initial way of marking the arrival of the new year. As time passed, the annual traditions remained strong. In fact, the New Year celebrations became increasingly prominent. The celebrations spread from the palace to the ordinary household, gradually developing into the Spring Festival until recently.

Development

However, as ancient Chinese knowledge grew and the lunar calendar was discovered, they developed new ideas about when to hold major events, rather than just following the harvest season. So the festival dates or dates marking the new year are adjusted several times as the lunar calendar develops.

During ancient China, there was no such thing as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival throughout the new year holidays. The holiday is named Yuan Dan, which means the first morning from new beginnings.

As the lunar calendar developed, the times of the Yuan Dan varied across dynasties, changing from celebrating the first month of the Xia dynasty, to celebrating the 12th month of the Shang dynasty, then of the tenth month of the Qin dynasty. This development lasted until the Han dynasty.

In the Han Dynasty, the lunar calendar was finalized during the time of Emperor Wu. Dan Yuan Dan was set to be celebrated on the first day of the first month, as we know it today.

Following the lunar cycle, celebrations will last from Yuan Dan to the first full moon, Yuan Xiao, which is now known as the Lantern Festival. In Indonesia, the first full moon celebration is known as Cap Go Meh.

Photo illustration of lanterns (Lukas Fitria Adi Setiawan / Unsplash)

The lunar calendar has been followed ever since. However, after the Qing Dynasty collapsed, China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912 and the Yuan Dan was changed to January 1.

In 1914, the then emperor, Yuan Shikai, suggested renaming the four final holidays each season. The Chinese New Year celebrations became known as the Spring Festival.

This tradition has survived to the present day. Therefore Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival.

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