Once upon a time, in a small village in China, a girl named Xiaomei sat watching her mother cook all day long.
“Mom, why do we have to make so much food?” Xiaomei asked. “Roast duck, whole fish, dumplings — all in one night.”
Her mother smiled. “Because tonight is the most important night of the whole year.”
Grandfather, sitting in the corner of the room, overheard and called Xiaomei over to sit beside him.
“Let me tell you why,” he said.
Long ago, there was a monster called Nian that came out of the sea at the end of every year. It devoured livestock and crops, and the villagers were so terrified they had to flee into the forest every single year.
Then one day, an old man refused to run. He hung red paper on his door, lit loud firecrackers, and kept every light in his house burning bright.
When Nian saw the red color, heard the loud noise, and saw the bright light, it grew afraid and fled back into the sea, never to return.
“That’s why,” Grandfather said, “everything we do at New Year — the red paper, the firecrackers, the lanterns, all this food — is a way of giving thanks that we are safe, and celebrating that we overcame our fear.”
Xiaomei stepped outside and looked at the red lanterns hanging throughout the village. The sound of firecrackers rang out.
She smiled and ran back inside to help her mother set the table, because now she understood — every dish and every light told a story her family had passed down for hundreds of years.
Moral: Every festival and tradition carries a deep story and meaning. Learning “why” helps us understand and connect more deeply with our own roots.
