One legend goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow a great many people with one bite.People were very scared.
传说有一个叫“年”的怪兽,有一个大嘴,能一口吞下很多人.人们都很怕它.
The custom of putting up red paper and firing fire-crackers is to scare away Nian.
贴红纸和方鞭炮的习俗就是为了吓跑年.
However,people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this,except that they feel the color and the sound add to the excitement of the celebration.
但是,现在人们大多忘记了为什么这么做的原因,只是觉得色彩和响声增加了过节的气氛.