Chinese Festivals
1. Spring Festival
Spring Festival, widely known as Chinese New Year in the west, falls on the first day of the first lunar month (usually in late January and early February) according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It is the most important traditional festival in China and is celebrated grandly and extensively across the country.
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called "Lunar New Year", because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month. In the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Han Chinese populations (Chinatowns), such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
2. Dragon Boat Festival
Duanwu Festival (Chinese: 端午節/端午节), also known as Dragon Boat Festival, is a traditional and statutory holiday associated with Chinese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies as well. It is a public holiday in mainland China (since 2008), where it is known by the Mandarin name Duānwǔ Jié, and in Taiwan, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is known by the Cantonese name Tuen Ng Jit. The festival is also celebrated in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as in Singapore and Malaysia. Equivalent and related festivals outside Chinese-speaking societies include the Kodomo no hi in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam.
The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth.In 2009 this falls on May 28 and in 2010 on June 16. The focus of the celebrations includes eating the rice dumpling zongzi, drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu, and racing dragon boats.
Duanwu Festival is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
3. Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Zhongqiu Festival, or in Chinese, Zhongqiujie (traditional Chinese: 中秋節), is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival") in the Zhou Dynasty.[1] In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.
