China's traditional festivals have evolved （演化，发展）through the centuries from past major events. For instance, long ago when people had a bountiful harvest, they gathered and celebrated their good fortune with gala performances（盛大的演出）. When natural disasters struck, they offered sacrifices to the gods and their ancestors, hoping for a blessing（保佑）. The change of the seasons, flowers in spring, and the bright moon in autumn could all arouse their longing for a more beautiful life. Thus, creative activities were held to signify these events. Gradually these activities developed into festivals.
The most important festival in China is the Spring Festival. It is said that the Spring Festival evolved from an activity known as the Winter Sacrifice（祭品）. It was a custom practiced by the people of primitive society.（原始社会）
As the cold winter began to recede and the warm spring was about to begin, the people of an entire clan (家族)gathered together. They brought out their bounty from hunting, fishing and the field. They thanked the gods for the blessings of nature, including the mountains, rivers, the sun, moon and stars. They thanked their ancestors. Then they shared and enjoyed the sumptuous bounty of the land, sea, air and fields as they ate, danced and sang heartily.
In the beginning, their activities had no fixed date. But usually it was held at the end of each winter. Gradually, through the years, it was celebrated at the end of the old year or the beginning of the new. With the changes and disintegration of primitive society, the form and content of the Winter Sacrifice also changed. Ultimately, it became a festival to bid farewell to the old year and welcome in the new year（辞旧迎新）. So it came to be called the Spring Festival.
All the traditional festivals in China are based on the Chinese lunar calendar（阴历）. The Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year. In Chinese, we also say Guo Nian, meaning keeping off the monster of Nian.
There are many legends about the origin （起源）of Nian. The most popular one is this. It is said that Nian was a fierce monster back in ancient times. It looked like a strong bull with head like that of a lion. Usually the monster stayed deep in the mountains and caught and ate other beasts. But during the winter, it could not find enough food. So it came out of its mountain lair（兽穴） and entered villages to eat whatever it could catch. Villagers became very frightened and moved away to escape the ferocious monster. But later the people found that even though it was fierce, Nian was afraid of three things: the red color, a bright flame, and a loud noise. After learning this, they figured out how to prevent Nian from entering their villages.
Just before Nian came again, every household painted their door red and burned a fire in front of their door-ways. Besides, the people did not go to bed. Instead, they stayed up all night beating on things to make a loud noise. Ever since, Nian has never again come to villages.
Thus, a tradition was established and the customs have been kept through the years. Later, the people found that bamboo could make a crackling sound when burned. In time, the noise of crackling bamboo was replaced with bang of firecrackers（鞭炮）. This is how the Chinese people began to set off firecrackers for the Spring Festival. （By Dai Yirong, Excerpt of Cultural Background of China, China Radio International, World Publishing corporation.）
