Chinese traditional festivals
Characterized by diverse styles and themes, traditional Chinese festivals are an important part of Chinese history and culture, both ancient and modern. They are colorful and rich in content. A close relationship exists between many of the traditional festivals and chronology, mathematics, the Chinese Calendar and the twenty-four solar terms. Many of the customs connected with the traditional festivals have links with religious devotions, superstitions and myths.
Almost every festival has its own unique origins and customs which reflect the traditional practices and morality of the whole Chinese nation and its people. The grandest and most popular festivals are the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Double Seventh Festival, the Mid-autumn Festival, and the Chongyang Festival.
Table of Eight Chinese Traditional Festivals
|
Festival |
Date |
Customs |
|
Spring Festival |
1st day of the first lunar month - the end of Lantern Festival |
pasting Spring Festival scrolls, the character 'Fu', and paper-cuts pictures, displaying firecrackers and fireworks, paying New Year visits, and eating jiaozi. |
|
Lantern Festival |
15th day of the first lunar month |
watching lanterns and fireworks, guessing lantern riddles, performing folk dances, and eating yuanxiao. |
|
Qingming Festival |
April 4th or 5th of the solar calendar |
tomb sweeping, spring outings, and flying kites. |
|
Dragon Boat Festival |
5th day of the 5th lunar month |
dragon boat racing, eating zongzi, wearing a perfume pouch and tying five-colour silk thread, and hanging mugwort leaves and calamus. |
|
Double Seventh Festival |
7th day of seventh lunar month |
praying for skillful hands, appreciating the stars, and eating noodles, jiaozi, and wontons. |
|
Mid-autumn Festival |
15th day of the 8th lunar month |
appreciating and offering sacrifice to the moonlight and eating moon cakes. |
|
Chongyang Festival |
9th day of the 9th lunar month |
eating Chongyang cake, drinking chrysanthemum wine, climbing mountains and appreciating beautiful chrysanthemums. |
Spring Festival
Spring Festival is on January, 1st, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. This is the most important festival in China. Spring Festival is a happy festival. No matter how far people stay away, they are eager to go home and stay together with their families on this special festival. In many places, lion dances and dragon lantern show are performed during Spring Festival.
Spring Festival is a time for celebrating with family and friends. Traditionally, the Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival in the following ways: From December 23rd in the Chinese calendar, people begin to clean their houses to bid farewell to the old year and usher in a happy and fresh new year; People hang flower-decorated red lanterns in front of their houses. Red couplets-red posters with black Chinese calligraphy, co
lored New Year paintings are posted on the doors of people’s houses. They symbolize happiness, prosperity and good luck in the New Year; Spring Festival is a time for family reunion. The New Year's Feast is "a must" banquet with all the family members getting together. A traditional dish for the feast is "Jiaozi" or dumplings shaped like a crescent moon.
Lighting Firecrackers used to be one of the most important customs in the Spring Festival celebration. Right as the clock strike 12 o'clock midnight of New Year's Eve, cities and towns are lit up with the glitter from fireworks, and the sound can be deafening. The old generation always give money to the kids as New Year gift. The money is believed to bring good luck, ward off monsters; hence the name "lucky money". On the first day of the new year, everybody wears new clothes and greets relatives and friends with bows and Gongxi( congratulations), wishing each other good luck, happiness during the new year.
Lantern Festival
The 15th of January according to the lunar Chinese calendar is Lantern Festival. The night of 15th of January according to the lunar Chinese calendar is the first full-moon night in the New Year. People treat it as a symbol of New Year and celebrate on that day. They appreciate the bright moon, appreciate the beautiful lanterns, burn fireworks, guess lantern riddles and eat yuanxiao (stuffed dumplings made of glutinous rice flour served in soup) together. Yuanxiao is also a symbol of staying together.
Qingming Festival
Qingming Festival is a traditional festival and the most important sacrificing and Saomu (to commemorate a dead person at his grave) day to the ancestors in China. Han Nationality and some other ethnic nationalities saomu at that day. According to the old customs, people should take wine, food, fruits and zhiqian (paper made to resemble money and burned as an offering to the dead) to the graves. The food, fruits and wine should be placed before the grave and zhiqian should be burned at the grave. People add some fresh soil to the grave and put some tender tree branches on it. Then the food can be eaten before people go back. Qingming Festival is usually in the period of 4th to 6th of lunar calendar. It is a good time for traveling in the open air because plants turn green at this period. So ancient Chinese liked going around and doing some sports outside.
Dragon Boat Festival
May the 5th is the traditional Dragon boat Festival in China. This festival has lasting for more than 2,000 years. Because the area is wide and there are many nationalities in China, the tradition on Dragon boat Festival are different from place to place. The main activities held on Dragon boat Festival are as follows: daughters come back to their home, people hold dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and hanging calamus or Chinese mugwort.
Dragon boa
t racing is a main activity in the Dragon boat Festival. Even in nowadays, dragon boating is still very popular.
Zongzi is a kind of pyramid-shaped mass of glutinous rice wrapped in leaves. Eating zongzi on Dragon boat Festival is an old tradition in China.
Hanging calamus and Chinese mugwort is an important activity on Dragon Boat Festival. Even in today, Chinese family do this to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival.
The Double Seventh Festival
The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. There is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation.
Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). One day, a fairy from heaven Zhi Nu (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and married him. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back. With the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand flew to heaven with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river appeared in front of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their loyalty to love touched magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.
The legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, in particular, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine's Day in China.
Mid-Autumn Festival
August the 15th according to the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-autumn Festival in China. The festival is the second most important festival (just
second to the Spring Festival) to Chinese people. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the world to meet their family and have dinner with them.
Double Ninth Festival
September the 9th is the traditional Chongyang Festival in China. Because number 6 was stipulated as a yin number and 9 as a yang number, so the day of September the 9th became Chongyang Festival. (In Chinese language, chong means double) or called as Chongjiu (double nine) Festival. Chinese think Chongyang Festival is a good day, and this festival has been celebrating long long ago.
There are many activities on Chongyang Festival, such as travel outside, climbing hills, appreciating the chrysanthemum, wear cornels, eating chongyang cakes, drinking chrysanthemum wine and so on.
Today's Chongyang becomes much meaningful. For example, it has been decided as Senior People's Day. On this day, senior people go out and enjoy themselves very much.