- The cloud dancer"s Tales
- The Gathering
- In the begining. (Pangu)
- The four Dragons
- The Jade Emperor
- The White Dragon and the Phoenix
- The spring festival/chinese new year
- Yeh - Shen
- The old woman and the Tiger
- liv Ch'en and yuan Chao
- Hok Lee learns a lesson
- contact me
- KU_NAN AND THE TIGER KING part 1
- Ku - Nan and the tiger king part2
- KU-NAN AND THE TIGER KING (a mongolian tale )part 3
- Why dogs hate cats
- The magic cave.
The Spring Festival / Chinese New Year
January 30 th to Febuary 8th is the spring festival and the chinese new year.Each year the dates change according to the lunar calendar. This new year is the year of the Rabbit. people born in the year of the rabbit are creative, compassionit and sensitive. They believe strongly in family and friends.
The spring festival is also known as Guo Nian. Guo means pass over and nian or year in chinese also refers to a mythical beast that lives in the bottom of the sea, all year, every spring festival eve the big horned monster nian comes upon the earth to devour any living creature or human he could find. He especially liked to eat small children.During this time the people would flee to remote mountain areas to escape the danger of being eaten.
On one spring festival eve long ago,the people of Taohua (peach blosoms) village were getting ready to go to the mountains,when an old man dressed in beggar clothes came into the village.He came with a stick and a bag,his long grey hair and beard fluttered in the wind as he walked. No one payed him much attention as they were scared and trying to get to the mountains for saftey.
A old woman in the village gave him somthing to eat and drink. She tryed to tell him he needed to go with them to the mountains for saftey. The old man thanked her for her kindness , but refused to go.
He told her if she let him stay in her house over night he could get rid of the nian for her and the others. At first she thought the man had lost his mind. After carefully looking at the man, she noticed that even thow he looked old he was hale and hearty and there was somthing different about him. So she left him there and went to the mountains.
At midnight the monster nian rushed into the village ready to devour any living person or beast he found.But nian found somthing different in the village.He saw red paper glued to the door of the old womans house.The house was lit up by candle light.Nian became enraged and howled fiercely throwing himself at the house. As he got to the gate of the garden he herd fireworks exploding. At that moment the door to the house opened and the old man dressed all in red came out and burst into laughter. Nian turned pale with
fright and ran.
In the morning when the people returned to their homes, nothing had been bothered and none of their animals had been eaten.
The old woman retuning to her home found red paper glued to the front door, fireworks still exploding and all the candles were still lit.The old man was gone.
The people suddenly understood that nian was afraid of the color red, the sounds of fireworks,and the light. They also agreed that the old man must be a diety who had come to help free them of the monster.
With great joy the villagers dressed up and celebrated the coming new year and their good fortune. News of how to scare the monster away spread quickly. From then on every spring festival eve, every family glued red paper with poems and prayers written on them on thier doors. They would stay up all night setting off fireworks and lighting lanterns.
The old man has never been forgotten.
The spring festival is also known as Guo Nian. Guo means pass over and nian or year in chinese also refers to a mythical beast that lives in the bottom of the sea, all year, every spring festival eve the big horned monster nian comes upon the earth to devour any living creature or human he could find. He especially liked to eat small children.During this time the people would flee to remote mountain areas to escape the danger of being eaten.
On one spring festival eve long ago,the people of Taohua (peach blosoms) village were getting ready to go to the mountains,when an old man dressed in beggar clothes came into the village.He came with a stick and a bag,his long grey hair and beard fluttered in the wind as he walked. No one payed him much attention as they were scared and trying to get to the mountains for saftey.
A old woman in the village gave him somthing to eat and drink. She tryed to tell him he needed to go with them to the mountains for saftey. The old man thanked her for her kindness , but refused to go.
He told her if she let him stay in her house over night he could get rid of the nian for her and the others. At first she thought the man had lost his mind. After carefully looking at the man, she noticed that even thow he looked old he was hale and hearty and there was somthing different about him. So she left him there and went to the mountains.
At midnight the monster nian rushed into the village ready to devour any living person or beast he found.But nian found somthing different in the village.He saw red paper glued to the door of the old womans house.The house was lit up by candle light.Nian became enraged and howled fiercely throwing himself at the house. As he got to the gate of the garden he herd fireworks exploding. At that moment the door to the house opened and the old man dressed all in red came out and burst into laughter. Nian turned pale with
fright and ran.
In the morning when the people returned to their homes, nothing had been bothered and none of their animals had been eaten.
The old woman retuning to her home found red paper glued to the front door, fireworks still exploding and all the candles were still lit.The old man was gone.
The people suddenly understood that nian was afraid of the color red, the sounds of fireworks,and the light. They also agreed that the old man must be a diety who had come to help free them of the monster.
With great joy the villagers dressed up and celebrated the coming new year and their good fortune. News of how to scare the monster away spread quickly. From then on every spring festival eve, every family glued red paper with poems and prayers written on them on thier doors. They would stay up all night setting off fireworks and lighting lanterns.
The old man has never been forgotten.