Traditional Chinese Festivals & Customs
Following the article on Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival, let us look at the Origins and Legends associated with this Chinese festival. Origin Like many festivals, the Mid-Autumn festival came to its current traditions through many years of evolution. The history of Mid-Autumn festival in China can be dated back to around 500 BC where the…
The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 : zhōng qiū jié) is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese Spring Festival (The Chinese New Year). This is because both of these festivals symbolize a time for family members and loved ones to get together to celebrate the festive season….
You have probably heard of the Chinese Lunar New Year but have you also heard about the lesser well-known Hungry Ghost Festival or otherwise known as Chinese Ghost Festival? Just as the Americans has the Halloween, the Chinese have their version of a ghost festival too. The Chinese Ghost festival is a mixed Taoist/ folklore…
Today is Qi Xi Festival (七夕節 ; qī xī jié)! Also known in recent years as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. Falling on the 7th day of the 7th month on the Chinese (Lunar) calendar, it is sometimes known as the ‘Double Seven Festival’. In Japan, it is called the ‘Tanabata Festival’. This year in 2009,…
The Dragon Boat Festival, A Chinese holiday is gaining worldwide popularity, It is also called Double Fifth Festival( Double Fifth Festival is 端午节in Mandarin) is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. The Dragon Boat Festival dating back to the Warring States Period in 227 B.C. The festival commemorates…
The Qingming Festival (traditional Chinese: 清明節; simplified Chinese: 清明节; pinyin: Qīngmíngjié, or Ching Ming Festival in Hong Kong), meaning Clear and Bright Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar. Its name…
Today, the 9th of February 2009 is The Lantern Festival! The Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, which is falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, marking the end of the celebrations of the Chinese New Year. Lantern Festival also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China, because the first lunar month…
Happy Niu Year! Niu in Mandarin means Ox or Buffalo. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2009 is the Year of the Ox. The Chinese Zodiac is a cycle of 12 years, each year represented by a different animal. So if you are born in 1997, 1985 or one of the cycle years…
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, northernmost of China, is known for its extremely cold winters. It is also famous for this annual Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, attracting hundreds of participants and thousands of visitors worldwide in its ice sculpturing activities. The ice sculptures are built to impress, often accompanied with colourful lights…
