1、A long time ago, there was a monster called Nian. It often bullied the people living in the mountains in winter. Some people wanted to get rid of it, and some people wanted to drive it away. One day Nian came again, and many peoples homes were attacked.很久很久以前,有一个叫“年”的怪物,它经常在冬天欺负住在山里的人们,有一些人想把它除掉,也有一些人想把它赶走。有一天“年”又来了,许多人家里都遭到了袭击。
2、Only a few houses were hung with red curtains, and there were no injuries to those who had lit fires or knocked on the outside of their doors, so the people in the mountains knew that Nian was afraid of three things. 只有几户挂着红布帘,门外生着火堆或敲敲打打闹翻天的人家没有受到伤害,因此山里的人们知道了“年”怕三样东西。
3、When year comes again, people use these three kinds of things to drive away this big monster, from then on dare not to hurt people. From one generation to the next, the custom of celebrating the Lunar New year has come into being. 当“年”再来的时候,人们用这三样东西把这个大怪物给赶走了,从此都不敢来伤害人们了。以后代代相传,便形成了过年热闹的习俗。