Nian, the New Year Monster
Classical Stories · No. 57 — Why the New Year is red, loud, and bright.
- Classical Stories
- 35 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
Long ago, a fearsome beast named Nian lived in the mountains and, once a year on New Year's Eve, came down to prey on a village — eating crops, livestock, and worse — so that every year the terrified people fled to the hills and hid. One year a mysterious old beggar refuses to flee, and instead pastes red paper on the doors, lights candles until the house blazes, and sets off crackling bamboo. When Nian arrives, it recoils from the red, the light, and the noise, and flees back to the mountains. The villagers return to find their savior gone but his secret plain — and every New Year since, China wears red, lights lamps, and sets off firecrackers to keep Nian away.
Why it's worth a listen
Every year on the same night, a monster called Nian came down from the mountains to raid the villages — until the people discovered the three things it could not stand: the color red, loud noises, and bright light. This is why, to this day, the Lunar New Year explodes with firecrackers, red lanterns, and red envelopes. A festival's whole origin in one story.
A question to keep
What do you do about a fear that comes back every single year?
Chapters
- The Shadow on the Mountain
- The Beggar and the Hearth
- Red, Light, and Wood
- The Beast in the Dark
- The Song of the Fire
- The Return and the Reveal
- A Question to Keep