Find Out Why 2024 is the Year of the Wooden Dragon

CNYThere’s a whole lot to know if you’re going to celebrate Chinese New Year properly, and this year I plan on doing everything by the book and sticking as close to tradition as possible, partly to teach my little girl this side of her heritage and partly to finally satisfy the curiosity I’ve had for it all these decades. So, join me as I explain every Chinese New Year tradition that’s about to take over the city.
So far we've covered:
- Day-to-day breakdown on how to celebrate CNY- Community poll on how much to put into each person's hongbaos

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It’s almost time to celebrate Chinese New Year, or 过年 (guònián). On Feb 10 it will officially be the Year of the Dragon. Here’s the quick version of what nian is and what the Year of the Dragon is.

What is Nian?Nian means year in Chinese, but legend has it that it was once a fierce monster that looked like a lion with a sharp horn on its head and the long tail of a dragon. It lived at the bottom of the sea, but once a year on the last day of the lunar calendar it would come on land to hunt.

The nian monster preyed on people and livestock, and villagers would drive away the beast with firecrackers and flares. It’s believed that the first villager who fought off the nian monster was dressed all in red, and since then it has been believed that bright lights, firecrackers, and the color red weaken the beast. So, from then on, each year during the lunar new year, people hang up red couplets and lanterns, wear red articles of clothing, and set off firecrackers.

There's more to this story! This article was originally posted on our sister account, jingkids International.

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Images: The Independent, Bing

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