Rebirth and Rejuvenation: How Have Ancient New Year’s Traditions Influenced Festivities Today?

January 1st, New Year’s Day, is often ushered in with fireworks and festivities beginning on December 31st. Although this practice is the norm in many places around the world, not every culture has celebrated the start of a new year in this way, or necessarily on January 1st. There are many ways to honor the new year and several of them are based on ancient traditions.

The Bloodthirsty Beast Who Shaped the Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is one of the oldest extant traditions in the world. This holiday has been traced back as far as three millennia ago, with origins in the Shang Dynasty. In its earliest days, this festival was linked to the sowing of spring seeds, but it eventually found ties to a fascinating legend. One popular version of the myth discusses the annual exploits of a bloodthirsty creature called Nian—now the Chinese word for “year”. To protect themselves and frighten off the beast, villagers decided to decorate their homes with red ornaments, burn bamboo, and make loud noises. The tactic worked, and bright colors and lights are still present in New Year’s festivities today. These days, Chinese New Year celebrations involve food, family reunions, and the gifting of lucky money (usually in a red envelope), and the presence of several other red things for good luck. Lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, and firecrackers fill the streets on this day.

Dragon dance on Chinese New Year. (BigStockPhoto)