Nian Monster

Hello. My name is Mei. I live in a little village at the bottom of a big, tall mountain. It is a cozy, happy village. We love getting ready for the New Year party, the biggest party of the year. We hang up bright red lanterns that look like little balls of sunshine. We cook yummy dumplings that smell so good. But a long, long time ago, this happy time was also a scary time. It was because of a big monster. This is the story of the Nian Monster.

Up on the mountain lived the Nian Monster. He was a very grumpy monster with a big, big head and a sharp horn. Every year, Nian came down from the mountain on the darkest night. He would sneak into our village. Sneak, sneak, sneak. He wanted to find snacks and he scared everyone. The people in the village would hide in their cozy homes, hoping Nian would go away. But one year, a very smart old man saw something funny. He saw the monster get scared by a child wearing a bright red shirt. The color red scared the monster. The old man also saw Nian run away from a loud CRACKLE sound of burning bamboo. The smart man told everyone, 'I have a plan. Nian is afraid of the color red, loud noises, and bright fire.'

The next New Year, everyone was ready. We put red paper on all the doors. So much bright red paper. We wore our favorite red clothes. Red, red, everywhere. We lit up the whole village with pretty, glowing lanterns. When the Nian monster came down the mountain, he saw all the red and all the bright lights. Then he heard a big noise. We banged on our drums. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. We banged on our pots. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. The Nian monster was so surprised and so scared. He turned around and ran all the way back up the tall mountain. He never came back to bother us again. Now, every New Year is a happy party. We have loud fireworks and pretty red things. We remember to be brave, and we start the new year happy and not scared at all.