Chinese Holidays

Chinese New Year

• This is the most important holiday of the year on the Chinese calendar.  Family member return home for a reunion from near and far.  Good food, fireworks and red packets are among the many festivities.
• Hundreds of millions of people are on the move during the Chinese New Year holiday for family reunions and vacation, making it by far the busiest travel season in China.

Yuan Xiao Festival (Lantern Festival)

• Symbolized by lanterns, this holiday is celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st month in the lunar year.  A favorite activity for kids is to strut outside at night carrying brightly-lit lanterns.
• Balls of glutinous rice with sweet fillings, called Yuan Xiao, boiled in water or broth are consumed for this occasion.

Qing Ming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day)

• Qing Ming is a time of remembrance and honoring the deceased, particularly one’s ancestors.
• Qing Ming is also one of the 24 seasonal division points in the Chinese calendar, and brings the hope of spring. It is high time for spring plowing and sowing. Kite flying is a popular activity of Qing Ming.

Duan Wu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival)

• Duan Wu falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year. It is celebrated with dragon boat racing and reed-leaf-wrapped rice dumplings called zhongzi.
• The festival commemorates the great poet Qu Yuan. After his suicide in a river in 278 BC, local people rushed out in fishing boats, beating drums and throwing rice lumps into the water to keep fish from his body. These later evolved into the Duan Wu rituals of today.

Qi Xi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day)

• Qi Xi falls on the 7th day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar.
• Legend has it that two devoted lovers, a cowherd and his fairy lover weaver girl, are separated by a wide river in the sky. Once a year on Qi Xi, the magpies fly up and form a bridge over the river so the cowherd and the weaver girl get to spend a day with each other.

Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)

• Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar year, when the moon is at its fullest and brightness. It is a time to celebrate abundant fall harvest and togetherness.
• This holiday is marked by family reunions, moon gazing and moon cakes.

Chong Yang Festival

• Chong Yang, also known as Double Ninth Festival, falls on the 9th day of the 9th month in the lunar calendar. Traditional activities include hiking, mountain climbing and drinking chrysanthemum wine.
• The customs of Chong Yang may have originated from rituals to avoid evil spirits. Chrysanthemum is considered to have cleansing qualities; and folklores tell of a family escaping danger by climbing to the mountain top.