Red Fireworks

      On Chinese New Year, the sound of fireworks can be heard throughout the night, and bright, flashy displays of light can be seen outside your windows. Chinese New Year isn’t a one-day celebration. Chinese families celebrate for two weeks, with special days marking special traditions. On the sixth day of the lunar new year, families visit temples to pray to their ancestors. On the fifteenth day, on the first full moon of the lunar new year, the Lantern Festival is celebrated. 

      To usher in the new year, the Chinese warmly celebrate with noises, fireworks, and the color red everywhere. As part of a Chinese family, we also take part in these traditions, hanging up auspicious signs, watching fireworks displays, and receiving red envelopes (红包) from our elders. My mother is especially picky about this holiday  telling us to clean the house and arrange everything like it's brand new. The Chinese character for fortune (福) is just as widespread, from outside homes to interior wall decorations. These traditions trace back from a particular legend that has been passed down through generations.

      Thousands of years ago, there lived a monster called the Nian. At the start of each new year, it would attack the villagers, forcing them to flee to the mountains every New Year’s Eve to avoid Nian’s ferocious attacks.

      One New Year’s Eve, an old man dressed as a beggar in rags and walking with a stick came to their village. It was an inconvenient time for them, as they were packing to flee to the mountains for the year, but an old woman saw this old man wandering around the village and gave him food. She warned him about the Nian, and told him he should better leave. The old man kept his cool and just asked for a night to stay and to get rid of the monster. The old woman kept on trying to persuade him to leave the village, but in the end the old man’s stubbornness led him to stay and plot his plan on his own.

      On the night that Nian came again, it was astonished and frightened, for there were a lot of red paper pasted on the front doors and inside each home were lit candles. The Nian approached the village with caution, but as he arrived at the main front door, there were loud sounders of popping firecrackers, forcing the Nian away. The door slammed open, revealing the old man dressed in a long red gown, body shaking with laughter, and the Nian could do nothing but flee in fear.

      When the villagers came back in the morning, they were surprised to see the scene of the village still undamaged by anything. They wondered why, and to their surprise, they found out that it was the old man’s doing. Enlightened by what the old man told them, they continued to pop firecrackers every new year, and placed red paper as far as the eyes could see.

      The villagers no longer had to live in fear of the Nian, and they passed down their knowledge to the generations that came after them, to keep them safe during the passing of the year. Until now, this story, along with the others, serves as a strong reminder of what awaits a new year. Living in one of the most uncertain times of our lives should never stop this memory. Hence, as agents of this ancient story, we continue traversing our futures, no matter how difficult; we continue lighting up our night skies, no matter how dark.