Chinese people held the first New Year Festival more than 3,000 years ago. Farmers gave thanks for the harvest and prayed. They asked the gods for good crops in the coming year. But there is a story behind all the celebration; below is the legend of how the Chinese New Year celebration began.
中国人庆祝中国传统新年已经有3000多年的历史了，农民感谢上苍赐予好的收成，同时祷告来年有好的收成。但是庆祝新年的背后，有一个故事，下面就是庆祝新年的传说。
According to the legend, there was a man-eating wild monster "Nian" with an extremely large mouth, capable of swallowing several people in a single bite. This beast appeared in a country village. At the end of winter when there was nothing to eat, it would visit the villages and attack and eat whatever it could. The villagers would live in terror over the winter.
据传说，有一个吃人的野生怪物“年”它的嘴巴相当的大，一口就可以吞下好几个人。年在冬季末段的时候没有吃的就会出现在乡村里，它跑到村里去，看见什么能吃，它就吃什么，所以整个冬天村民们都生活在恐惧之中。
The next year it returned and the same thing happened. The monster seemed too strong to be defeated. So all the villagers would take their old and young deep into the mountains to hide from Nian.
来年冬天，怪兽如期而至，同样的悲剧再次发生，怪兽之强壮非常人能够击倒，所以所有村民都携带全家老小到深山躲藏，以避免成为“年”的食物。
One day, a wise old man passed through the village and told an old woman, "I will teach you how to scare Nian away!"
有一天，一个充满智慧的老人经过村庄，告诉一个老妇人：“我教你怎么把年吓跑”。
That evening when Nian arrived at the village, he saw that all the houses were dark except the house in which the old woman lived. Nian approached the house, licking his lips in anticipation. Suddenly, the deafening noise of firecrackers sounded endlessly.
当天晚上，当年踏进村子时，它见村里所有的屋子没有灯光，除了那个老夫人家亮着灯。年靠房子，舔着嘴唇，期待着自己的晚餐。突然，震耳欲聋的鞭炮声在耳边响个不停。
The monster was startled and jumped. Suddenly he realized that the house was covered in red paper. This scared him even more and he ran off into the mountains. When the villagers returned they saw that the old woman was unharmed! People later learned that "Nian" was afraid of loud noises and the color red; the villagers came together and agreed that when it was time for Nian's annual visit at the end of winter they would start a fire in front of every door and not go to sleep but rather make noise.
“年”被鞭炮声吓得跳起来，突然发现那个房子外面贴着红纸，这个把怪兽吓得落荒而逃，村民回到村庄发现老妇人毫发无伤。后来，村民知道了这个叫“年”的怪兽害怕噪声和红色，于是村里的村名都赞同，在“年”下一次“光顾”村庄的时候，家家户户都在门前点起火，守岁然后制造“动静”。
The following year, the villagers were ready for it. They set off firecrackers, lit all their lamps and decorated their houses in red, they pasted red paper on the doors, wore red clothing, hung up red lanterns. They made loud music, played the gong and drums and they danced and burnt the fireworks whenever Nian was about to arrive, ready to scare away the beast.
第二年，村名们都做足了准备，他们准备好了鞭炮，点燃了所有的灯，把房子装饰成红色，在门上贴红纸，穿红色的衣服，手里拎着红灯笼。他们敲锣打鼓大声弹唱，跳舞，走到哪里鞭炮就点到哪里。
Nian had not come down the mountain to cause any trouble thereafter.
年从此以后再没敢下山来惹麻烦了
This eventually become a tradition of China and leads to the celebration for another year of safe life. Chinese people celebrate in remembrance of this legend and it still continues till today!
这就成了中国的一个传统，庆祝一年的平安，中国人以此传说庆祝新年，直到今天。