{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreietkgba2xzuojsk3tljumy5gnvvliocaxupxbr2mhidhn43ie2mpe",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:73txmnzc4imhrv5q7azno3up/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf3dviyiw5k2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreiavn2gdypwfxbynvl5roecilsca5hnxbugmt7dq65ycwg2ylhdlra"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 191828
  },
  "path": "/history/165886-chinese-new-year-legend-of-nian/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-17T18:09:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://english.pravda.ru",
  "tags": [
    "History, traditions"
  ],
  "textContent": "Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, stands as the most important holiday in Chinese culture. People have celebrated it for more than two thousand years. The festival falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, usually between January 12 and February 19. After the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, people began calling it the Spring Festival to distinguish it from the Western-style New Year. In everyday speech, many simply call the holiday Nian, a word that means \"year.”\nThe Legend of Nian: Fear, Survival, and Discovery\n\nAncient folklore tells of Nian, a fierce horned monster that lived in the depths of the sea. Throughout the year, the beast remained hidden underwater, but on the eve of the New Year it emerged, stormed into villages, devoured livestock, and terrorized families. Villagers dreaded its arrival. Each year, before the New Year began, entire families fled into the mountains to escape the creature's wrath.\nOne New Year's Eve, as residents of Tao Hua Village hurried to leave with their elderly and children, a mysterious beggar with silver whiskers entered the settlement. Panic consumed the village. People secured doors, packed belongings, and drove animals away, leaving little room for curiosity. Only an old woman noticed the stranger. She offered him food and urged him to flee before Nian arrived. The beggar smiled and replied with calm confidence: if she allowed him to stay the night, he would drive Nian away.",
  "title": "Chinese New Year: Customs, Symbolism, and the Family Reunion Night"
}