Another year of good fortune is beginning in China.
Fireworks pop high in the sky, dragons dance in the streets, and the cities close down to celebrate Chinese New Year and Chinese culture.
It's the most important time of the year, rules and traditions and customs passed down through the ages.
The celebration lasts for 15 magical days full of family togetherness, delicious food and good fortune.
Today Chinese New Year is filled with happiness. But according to legend it didn't start out that way.
A long long time ago in China, there was a big scary nasty beast named Nian, whose name means year.
He had razor-sharp teeth, gaint claws, and really mean growl.
Most of the time he lived in the wilderness, but in the darkest night of the year, when the new moon was in the sky, he would sneak into the village and scare everyone inside, even the animals.
People dreaded the new moon for many many years until a wise man taught them the three things Nian was afraid of, loud noises, fire and the color of red.
The next time Nian came, the villagers fought back, they hit their drums as loud as they could, lit every firecracker they had and wore the color red from head to toe.
Nian went far away and never came back.
在中国，新的好运年又开始了。
烟花窜上了天空，龙舞跳跃在街上，城市为庆祝新年而歇业。
这是一年中最重要的时刻，传统习俗代代相传。
庆典持续15天，每天都是美妙的家人聚会，美食吃不完，好运享不尽。
现在的春节充满了欢乐。但是传说开始时并非这样。
很久很久以前，在中国有一种野兽叫“年”，它体型巨大，长相凶猛，及其危险。
它有着利齿和巨爪，吼声吓人。
大部分时间它住在荒野，但在一年中最黑暗的夜里，天上挂着一弯新月时，它会潜入村庄，吓走村里的每个人，连动物也不放过。
人们很多很多年来都害怕新月的那天晚上，直到一个聪明人告诉他们，“年”害怕三样东西，巨大的声响，火和红色。
下一次“年”来的时候，村民们反击了，他们用力地敲鼓发出最大的声音，点燃所有的鞭炮，从头到脚都穿上红色。
“年”跑得老远并且再也没有回来过。