According to the well-known Lunar New Year legend, the villagers defeat the mythical beast Nian.
In the story, Nian emerges around the start of the new year to attack villages and eat people or livestock. The villagers eventually discover that the creature is frightened by loud noises, fire and the color red. They use firecrackers, drums, red paper, lanterns and red clothing to drive it away, establishing customs associated with the festival.
The tale also helps explain the Chinese expression guo nian, commonly interpreted in this context as “passing over” or overcoming Nian. Lion dances are sometimes connected to the same tradition, although the historical development of lion dance is broader and should not be reduced entirely to this legend.
Nian is a cultural myth rather than a zoological creature. The earliest written references identifying Nian as a beast appear relatively late, and older Chinese sources use the character nian primarily for “year” or related harvest meanings. Even so, Nian remains the single canonical answer to this popular folklore question.