This legend says the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow many people with one bite, which scared people. One day, an old man came to their rescue, offering to subdue Nian.
这个传说是关于一只名为“年”的猛兽，它的血盆大口能一次吞下许多人，很多人都十分惧怕它。有一天，一位老人前来降服年兽，拯救人们。
He said to Nian, "I hear that you are very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents?" So, it swallowed many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harassed people and their domestic animals from time to time.
他对年说：“我听说你很厉害，但你能吞下别的野兽吗？人类显然不是你的对手啊。”然后，“年”就吃掉了很多时常侵犯人和家畜的野兽。
After that, the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal god. Now that Nian is gone and other beasts of prey were scared into forests, people began to enjoy a more peaceful life.
在那之后，老人骑着年兽离开了。原来他是位不朽的神仙。年兽消失了，其他野兽也因为害怕躲进了森林，人们从此过上了和平的日子。
Before the old man left, he told people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at the end of each year to scare away Nian in case it snuck back again, because red is the colour the beast feared the most.
但在老人离开之前，他告诉大家，每年年末都要在窗户和门上贴红色的剪纸，以防年兽偷跑回来，因为年兽最害怕红色。
The custom of putting up red paper and firing firecrackers to scare away Nian should it have a chance to run loose is still around. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, except that they feel the colour and the sound add to the excitement of the celebration.
贴红纸、放鞭炮来防备、吓唬年兽的习俗后来保留了下来。不过现在，人们已经忘了他们为何做这些事，只是觉得红色和鞭炮声增加了节日的喜庆。
From then on, the tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation.
从那以后，“看年兽被降服”成了代代相承的传统。
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