Chinese New Year celebrations are used to scare away the mythical wild beast Nien (年, which also is the word for “year”). Legend has it that at the end of each year, Nien appears and pillages human towns and villages. Therefore, loud firecrackers and bright lights are meant to shoo the beast or evil spirits away, and the 15-day New Year festivities have taken roots as the most important of Chinese traditions. According to the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year usually falls i