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Legend of Nian Monster

The Legend of Nian Monster

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.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster called "Nian" ("year") that would come out to eat people and animals on the eve of every New Year. To avoid the monster's attack, people would flee to the depth of the mountains and call this day "Nian Guan" (meaning "the Pass of Nian"). On one New Year's Eve, there came an old beggar in Peach Blossom Village, where an old lady gave him some food and asked him to hide himself in the mountain to avoid the monster Nian. The old man promised that he could drive the monster away as long as he was put up for the night at the old lady's home. Being unable to persuade the old man into hiding in the mountain, the old lady went alone. In the middle of the night, the monster Nian dashed into the village. He trembled and cried when he saw the red paper on the door of the old lady's house, which was brightly lit. Just as the monster reached the entrance, there came blasting sounds that prevented him from moving any further. At that time, the old man, wearing a red robe, opened the door and the monster was scared away.

The following year, the villagers were ready for it. They set off firecrackers, lit all their lamps and decorated their houses in red, they paste red paper on the doors, wear red clothing, hang up red lanterns. They made loud music, play the gong and drums and they dance and burn the fireworks whenever Nian was about to arrive, to scared away the beast.This is how these customs came into being.




List of Gods : "Nian" - 306 records

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Name ▲▼Origin ▲▼Description ▲▼
Goddess name
"A-a"
Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian / / western Semitic Sun goddess. Consort of the un god SAMAS . Also AYA....
God name
"ADAD (wind)"
Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian weather god. His father is the supreme sky god ANU. He is described as a benevolent giver of life in the fields but is also a more violent storm god. His name in Akkadian cuneiform means “wind.” His animal is the bull. In human form he is depicted wearing horned headdress and tiered skirt or robe decorated with astral symbolism. He may carry a scimitar embellished with a single panther head and his symbol is the lightning fork often fixed upon a pair of pincers....
Demon name
"Abaddon"
Babylonian It is the second of the seven names of the underworld in the Babylonian Talmud. Chief of the demons of the 7th hierarchy Hebrew / Christian

"Acmonian Wood"
Greek The trystplace of unlawful love. It was here that Mars had his åśśignation with Harmonia, who became the mother of the Amazons.
King name
"Admetus"
Greek A son of Pheres, the founder and king of Pherae in Thessaly, and of Periclymene or Clymene. (Apollodorus i) He took part in the Calydonian chase and the expedition of the Argonauts. (Apollodorus i)

"Ahura Mazda"
Persia An exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all. Persia
Spirit name
"Aitvaras"
Lithuanian A household spirit in Lithuanian mythology. An Aitvaras looks like a white or black rooster with a fiery tail. An Aitvaras may hatch from an egg of a 9 – 12 year old rooster. If the Aitvaras dies, he becomes a spark.
God name
"Akelos"
Greek River god. The son of OKEANOS and TETHYS. According to mythology he was a rival suitor for Deianeira who became the wife of HERAKLES. He was the consort of Melpomene and his daughters were allegedly the sirenes. A river of the same name runs into the Ionian Sea. Attributes include bull horns. Also Achlae (Etrurian)....
Spirit name
"Akhkhazu"
Babylonian The Seizer. An evil spirit, who had the power of securing his victim under his control. Babylonian
Deities name
"Alad Udug Lama"
Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Babylonian - Akkadian Collective name of guardian deities. Vague spirits who accompany major deities and dispense good fortune....
King name
"Alalu"
Babylonian The first king of the heavens in Babylonian mythology.
Goddess name
"Allatu(m)"
Western Semitic Chthonic underworld goddess. Modeled on the Mesopotamian goddess ERESKIGAL and possibly also equating with ARSAY in Canaanite mythology. Recognized by the Carthaginians as Allatu....
Goddess name
"Allatum"
Iranian underworld goddess Iranian
Demon name
"Alu"
Babylonian The strong one. A Babylonian demon.
Goddess name
"Ama-arhus"
Akkadian Babylonian and Akkadian fertility goddess
Goddess name
"Ama-arhus"
Mesopotamian / BabylonianAkkadian Fertility goddess. Mentioned in texts as being among the pantheon at Uruk in Hellenistic times but also found as an earlier manifestation of the god GULA. Also Arad-Ama-arhus, Amat-Ama-arhus....
Goddess name
"Amasagnul"
Mesopotamian / BabylonianAkkadian Fertility goddess. Mentioned in prebend doçúɱents from the Hellenistic period at Uruk and thought to be the consort of the god PAPSUKKAL....
God name
"Ancaeus"
Greek 1. A son of the Arjadian Lycurgus and Creophile or Eurynome, and father of Agapenor. He was one of the Argonauts and partook in the Calydonian hunt in which he was killed by the boar. (Apollodorus i. 9.) 2. A son of Poseidon and Astypalaea or Alta, king of the Leleges in Samos, and husband of Samia, the daughter of the river-god Maeander, by whom he became the father of Perilaus, Enodos, Samos, Alitherses, and Parthenope.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8   ...   17