Immortal Flashers

After doing some research on Chinese New Year, I found an interesting article on wikipedia.org about a chinese myth. Apparently, the basis of decorating/dressing in red (besides the whole "prosperity" thing, burning firecrackers and having lion dances is to scare away some sea-dwelling man-eating monster called the "Nian". Quoting from wiki:

"The Nian would come to China and eat up people it saw, but in some stories, an immortal was said to have made use of Nian's powers (eating up venomous snakes and killing wild beasts like tigers and lions) before taming it (by flashing his red undergarment to scare Nian, who feared the colour red). Since then, people put up red spring couplets to prevent Nian from coming back."

I'm sure you caught the funny part. Protect yourself from the Nian. Stock up on festive underwear.