【往期回顾】
【本期内容】
There are many legends and stories about the Chinese New Year. We would like to share with you the three most popular ones.
关于中国新年有很多传说和故事，我们想和大家分享其中三个最受欢迎的。
1. The Legend of Why New Year Is Celebrated
为什么要庆祝新年的传说
Chinese New Year's Day is called Guo Nian (过年) in Chinese, which can mean 'celebrate (a new) year' or 'overcome Nian'. The character 年 (Nián) could mean a 'year' or 'the monster Nian'.
中国的新年在中文里叫做Guo Nian（过年），它可以表示“庆祝（新的）一年”或“战胜年兽”。年 （Nián）可以表示“一年（的时间）”或“年兽”。
In ancient times, there was a monster named Nian (年, or Nianshou 年兽) with a long head and sharp horns. It dwelled deep in the sea all year round and only showed up every New Year's Eve to eat people and livestock in nearby villages.
在古代，有一个叫“年”的怪物（年兽），长着一个长长的脑袋和锋利的双角。它常年生活在海洋深处，只有每年除夕才会出现，吃掉附近村庄的村民和牲畜。
Therefore, on the day of New Year's Eve, people would flee to remote mountains to avoid being harmed by the monster. People had lived in fear of this monster until an old man with white hair and a ruddy complexion visited the village.
因此，在除夕那天，人们会逃到偏远的山区，以避免受到怪物的伤害。人们一直生活在对这个怪物的恐惧中，直到一位白发苍苍、面色红润的老人来到这个村庄。
He refused to hide in the mountains along with the villagers, but successfully scared away the monster by pasting red papers on doors, burning bamboo to make a loud cracking sound (precursor to firecrackers), lighting candles in the houses, and wearing red clothes. When the villagers came back, they were surprised to discover that the village had not been destroyed.
他拒绝和村民一起躲在山里，而是通过在门上贴红纸、燃烧竹子发出响亮的爆裂声（鞭炮的前身）、在房子里点燃蜡烛、穿上红色衣服，成功地吓跑了怪物。当村民们回来时，他们惊奇地发现村庄没有被摧毁。
After that, every New Year's Eve, people did as the old man instructed and the monster Nian never showed up again. This tradition has been continued until the present time and has become an important way to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
此后，每年除夕夜，人们都按照老人的指示去做，而“年”这个怪物再也没有出现过。这一传统一直延续至今，成为庆祝新年到来的重要方式。
【Spark补注】
关于“年兽”，也有说怪物“年”的别名为“夕”，也有说“年”是神童，被派下人间来除掉怪物“夕”，所以人们为了纪念神童“年”，把旧年的最后一天称作“除夕”，把新年的第一天称作“过年”。
2. The Legend of Why Red Envelopes Are Given
为什么要给红包的传说
During the Chinese New Year period, the married or the elderly give red envelopes to children or unmarried juniors. A red envelope is also called yasui qian ("suppressing Sui money").
在中国春节期间，已婚的人或老年人会给孩子或未婚青少年发红包。红包也叫yasui qian（即“压岁钱”）。
【Spark补注】
我们过年时所说的“压岁”，由此看来“压”的是“祟”这个怪物。
According to legend, on New Year's Eve, besides the monster Nian, there was a demon named Sui that came out to terrify children while they were asleep.
据传说，在除夕夜，除了怪物“年”，还有一个叫“祟”的恶魔，它专门在孩子们睡着的时候出来吓唬他们。
It was said that the children who were touched by the demon would be too scared to cry out loud, got a terrible fever, and even became mentally unstable. To keep children safe from being harmed by Sui, parents would light candles and stay up for the whole night.
据说，被恶魔触摸的孩子会吓得不敢大声喊叫，会发烧，甚至神志不清。为了保护孩子免受祟的伤害，父母会点上蜡烛，彻夜不眠。
【Spark补注】
这可能就是“守岁”的由来吧。
On one New Year's Eve, in an official's family household, the parents gave their child eight coins to play with in order to keep him awake, so as to avoid him being hurt by the demon. The child wrapped the coins in red paper, opened the packet, rewrapped it, and reopened it until he was too tired to fall asleep. Then the parents placed the packet with eight coins under his pillow.
某个除夕夜，在一个官员的家里，父母给了孩子八个硬币让他玩，以免孩子睡着后被恶魔伤害。孩子用红纸把硬币包起来，打开包裹，重新包起来，然后又打开包裹，直到累得要睡觉为止。然后，父母就把装有八枚硬币的包裹放在孩子的枕头下。
When Sui tried to touch his head, the eight coins emitted a strong light and scared the demon away. The eight coins turned out to be eight fairies. From then on, giving red envelopes became a way to keep children safe and bring good luck.
当祟试图摸孩子的头时，八枚硬币发出强光，将恶魔吓跑。这八枚硬币结果变成了八个仙女。从那时起，发红包就成了保护孩子安全、给他们带来好运的一种习俗。
【Spark补注】
难怪以前父母给我们的“压岁钱”，基本都是“碎钱”，也许就源于当初这个官员家庭给孩子的八枚硬币吧。
3. The Legend of Why Spring Couplets Are Pasted
为什么要贴春联的传说
It is recorded that the origin of spring couplets can be dated back to 1,000 years ago when people hung taofu (桃符, written charms on peach wood) on doors.
据记载，春联的起源可以追溯到1000年前，人们那时会在门口悬挂taofu（桃符，写在桃木上的符咒）。
Legend has it that there was a huge peach tree stretching for more than 1,500 kilometers on a mountain in the ghost world. To the northeast of the tree, two guards named Shentu and Yulei guarded the entrance to the ghost world. They would catch the ghosts who harmed people and then send them to tigers as food.
传说在鬼怪世界的一座山上有一棵巨大的桃树，绵延1500多公里。在这棵树的东北部，两个名叫神荼和郁垒的门卫守卫着鬼世界的入口。他们会抓住害人的鬼怪，然后把它们作为食物送给老虎。
Therefore, all ghosts were afraid of the two guards. It was believed that hanging a piece of peach wood with an inscription of the two guards' names on doors could scare evil things away.
因此，所有的鬼怪都害怕这两个守卫。人们相信，在门上挂一块桃木，上面写着两个门神的名字，就可以吓跑邪恶的东西。
By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), people began to write two auspicious antithetical lines on the peach wood instead of the names of the two guards. Later, the peach wood was replaced by red paper, which symbolizes good luck and happiness. Since then, pasting spring couplets has been a custom to welcome the new year and express best wishes.
到了宋朝（公元960年-1279年），人们开始在桃木上写两行吉祥的对联，而不是两个门神的名字。后来，桃木被象征好运和幸福的红纸取代。从那时起，贴春联就成了迎接新年和表达祝福的习俗。
Written by Cindy
Translated by Spark Liao
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