Traditional Chinese Festivals (English)

(The first festival of the year is "Lichun", which is often called "Fighting Spring". Why do they call it that? China's history has such a custom, every year on the day of spring, people dressed in festive costumes, carrying a large papier-maché ox, singing and dancing on the streets. After the parade, the papier-maché plowing ox carried to the county office of the public hall, by the magistrate personally whip three, meaning: the earth back to spring, hurry to plow. Therefore, people call the spring festival "Playing Spring".)

New Year's Day

January 1

("New Year's Day" first came from Xiao Ziyun's poem "Jieya", written by Liang Liang in the Southern Dynasty: "New New Year's Day for the four qi, and the first day of ten thousand lifetimes". Yuan is the beginning, the first meaning; Dan is a Chinese character, above the "day" means the sun, below the "one" means the horizon. The sun rises over the horizon, symbolizing the beginning of the day. New Year's Day is the first day of the year.

January 1, Gregorian calendar, is recognized as New Year's Day in today's world. China's New Year's Day through the ages, the date is not consistent. Such as the Xia Dynasty is the first day of the first month; the Shang Dynasty in the first day of December; the Zhou Dynasty in the first day of November, and so on. September 27, 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Association through the use of the "A.D. chronology", will be January 1 as New Year's Day.)

Lunar New Year's Eve

The fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar

(also known as the "Festival of the New Year", that is, the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. It is an important traditional festival in China. In ancient books, this day is called "on the Yuan", and its night is called "Yuan night", "Yuan Xi" or "Lantern Festival". The name "Lantern Festival" has been used until now. Since the Lantern Festival has the custom of opening and watching the lanterns, it is also known as the "Festival of Lights" in folklore. In addition, there are also eating Lantern Festival, stilt walking, riddles and other customs. China's ancient calendar and the phase of the moon has a close relationship with the fifteenth day of the month, people ushered in the first full-moon night of the year, this day is rightly regarded as an auspicious day. As early as the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first month was already used as a day to worship the emperor and pray for blessings. Later, the ancients called the 15th day of the first month "Shangyuan", the 15th day of the 7th month "Zhongyuan", and the 15th day of the 10th month "Xiayuan". At the latest, in the early North and South Dynasties, Sanyuan was already a day to hold a grand ceremony. Among the three elements, the first element was the most important. Later, the celebrations of the Middle and Lower Yuan were gradually abolished, while the Upper Yuan has endured.)

Women's Day

March 8

China began to commemorate March 8 in 1922. The first mass commemoration of March 8 by Chinese women was held in Guangzhou in 1924.

In December 1949, the State Council of the Central People's Government established March 8 as Women's Day every year. The United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day in 1975, the International Women's Year, recognizing the traditions of ordinary women striving for equal participation in society, and in 1977 the General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting each country to choose a day of the year, in accordance with its own history and national traditions and customs, to be observed as the United Nations Day for Women's Rights and World Peace. For the United Nations, International Women's Day is designated March 8th.

Arbor Day

March 12

China's Arbor Day is set for March 12.In February 1979, the Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress of China (NPC) decided to designate March 12 of each year as China's Arbor Day.In December 1981, the Fourth Meeting of the Fifth National People's Congress also adopted a resolution on the launching of the National Compulsory Tree-Planting Campaign. The State Council promulgated specific implementation measures for the national compulsory tree-planting campaign in the following year. Before and after the Arbor Day, all parts of China should concentrate on tree-planting activities.

Cold Food

One day before the Qingming Festival

(A festival in the old custom, one day before the Qingming Festival [two days before the Qingming Festival, one says]. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Chong Er of Jin, who had been dead for many years, returned to his throne [i.e., Duke Wen of Jin] and rewarded his ministers who had died with him, but only Jie Zhi Tui was left out. Jie Zhitui then took his mother to live in seclusion in Mianshan Mountain [now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province]. Duke Wen of Jin learned of this and wanted to reward him, so he went to Mianshan Mountain and couldn't find him, so he tried to burn the mountain to force him to come out. However, Jie Zhi Tui insisted on not coming out, and as a result, both mother and son were burned to death. Duke Wen of Jin then stipulated that people should be forbidden to burn rice on this day every year to mourn the death of his mother and son. Later, the custom of eating cold food and sweeping graves on the day of cold food was formed.)

Ching Ming Festival

The eighth day of the second month of the lunar calendar

(The Qingming Festival is a traditional festival in China, and the most important festival of worship, a day of ancestor worship and tomb-sweeping. Tomb-sweeping is commonly known as visiting the graves, an activity to honor the dead. Most Han Chinese and some ethnic minorities sweep their tombs on Qingming Day. According to the old custom, when sweeping tombs, people should bring wine, food, fruits, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer the food in front of their loved ones' graves, then incinerate the paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, fold a few tender green new branches and stick them on the graves, then bow down and perform rituals to worship, and finally eat the wine and food and go home. Du Mu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem entitled "Qingming": "The rain falls one after another during the Qingming Festival, and the pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Where can I find a tavern? The shepherd boy points to the apricot blossom village." It writes about the special atmosphere of Qingming Festival.

The Qingming Festival, also known as the Treading Green Festival, according to the solar calendar, it is between April 4 and 6 every year, which is the time when the grass and trees spit out green in the bright spring, and it is also a good time for people to go on spring excursions [called trekking in ancient times], so the ancients had the custom of trekking in the Qingming Festival and carrying out a series of sports activities.)

Labor Day

May 1

After the founding of New China, the State Council of the Central People's Government in December 1949 designated May 1 as the statutory Labor Day, which is a national holiday. Every year on this day, the country celebrates, people change into festive costumes, cheerfully gathered in parks, theaters, squares, to participate in a variety of celebratory rallies or sports and recreational activities, and outstanding contributions to the recognition of workers.

Duanwu Festival

The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar

(The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the Dragon Boat Festival. Duanwu" is originally called "Duanwu", and "Duan" means the beginning. "Five" and "Wu" for each other as a harmonic and universal. It is an ancient festival in China. China's earliest ancient patriotic poet Qu Yuan was banished by slander, witnessed the growing political corruption in Chu, and could not realize their own political ideals, unable to save the dying motherland, so he threw himself into the Bioluo River to martyrdom. After that, people in order not to make the fish and shrimp eat their bodies, have used glutinous rice and flour into various shapes of cakes into the river, which later became the Dragon Boat Festival to eat zongzi, fried cake source. This custom has spread abroad.)

Children's Day

June 1

The Chinese People's Republic (PRC) designated June 1 of each year as International Children's Day, and the State Council of the Central People's Government (CPG) stipulated on December 23, 1949 that the International Children's Day would be the holiday of Chinese children, and announced the abolition of April 4 as the Children's Day, which had been observed by the Kuomintang (KMT) government since 1931, as a national holiday. The first Children's Day in China was celebrated in the 1920s of the Republic of China (R.O.C.). The first Children's Day in China was celebrated on April 4 in 1932, the twenty-first year of the Republic of China. In 1931, the Shanghai Chinese Salesian Association initiated a proposal to have the government designate April 4 as Children's Day. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education formulated measures to commemorate Children's Day, which were implemented on April 4 of the following year.

Chinese **** Producers' Party Founding Day

July 1

Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Memorial Day

July 7

Chinese Valentine's Day

Seventh Day of the Seventh Month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar

(The evening of the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is called the "seventh day of the seventh month". China's folklore is that the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden meet on this night at the Bridge of Magpies in the Sky River, and then there are women who beg for coquettish things by threading needles to the Weaving Maiden star on this night. The so-called begging for coquettish, that is, under the moonlight to the Vega star with colored thread through the needle, such as can pass through seven different sizes of the eye of the needle, even if it is very "coquettish". Farmer's proverbs say "the seventh day of the seventh month is clear and bright, grinding sickle cut good rice." This is the time to sharpen the sickle and prepare for the early rice harvest.)

Respect for the Elderly Day

Thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month

Chinese Army Day

First day of the eighth month

Mid-Autumn Festival

Fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month

(On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, this day falls in the middle of the autumn season, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival. In the evening, the moon is full and the fragrance of laurel, the old custom people see it as a symbol of reunion, to prepare a variety of fruits and cooked food, is a good festival to enjoy the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival also eat moon cakes. According to legend, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in order to overthrow the brutal Yuan Dynasty, the people wrote the date of the riot on a note and put it in the mooncake filling so as to pass it secretly to each other, calling for an uprising on August 15th. Finally, on this day, a nationwide peasant uprising was baked, overthrowing the corrupt Yuan Dynasty. Since then, the custom of eating mooncakes at mid-autumn has spread even more widely.)

Chongyang Festival

The ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar

(The ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. In ancient China, nine is yang, the ninth day of the ninth month of September is the yin and yang day, so the name "Chongyang". Legend has it that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ru Nan Huan Ying, heard Fei Changfang said to him, September 9 Ru Nan will have a big disaster, and quickly asked the family to sew a small generation, filled with cornelian cherry, tied to the arm, climbed the mountain, drink chrysanthemum wine, to take refuge. Huanjing this day the whole family mountaineering, home at night, really home chickens, dogs, sheep all dead. Since then, the folk have been in the Chongyang Festival do Cornus generation, drink chrysanthemum wine, hold a temple fair, climb high and other customs. Because "high" and "cake" sound the same, so the Chongyang Festival and eat "Chongyang cake" custom. Wang Wei, a poet of Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Remembering the Brothers of Shandong on September 9", which reads: "Being a stranger in a foreign land, I think of my relatives twice as much at festivals. I know from afar where my brothers are climbing up, and I have less Cornus officinalis to plant." The poem records the customs of the time. Because of the poem's sincere feelings, it is popular to this day.)

Teachers' Day

September 10

National Day

October 1

(October 1, 1949, is the anniversary of the founding of New China. It should be clarified here that in many people's minds, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China*** and the State of China was held in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on October l, 1949, with the participation of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In fact, this impression in people's minds is not accurate. Because the ceremony held in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949 was the founding ceremony of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, not the Founding Ceremony. In fact, the "founding" of the People's Republic of China, that is to say, the establishment of the People's Republic of China, had already been announced a week before October 1 of that year. At that time, it was not called the "Founding Ceremony", but the "Founding Ceremony". The date was September 21, 1949, when the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held. On that day, Mao Zedong, head of the preparatory committee for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), announced the birth of a new China in his opening speech at the first session of the CPPCC).

Winter Solstice

Twenty-second day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar

(In ancient times, China attached great importance to the winter solstice, the winter solstice was treated as a large festival, there was "winter solstice is as big as the year", and there is a custom of celebrating the winter solstice. The book of han said: "winter solstice yang qi up, jung dao long, so congratulations." People think: after the winter solstice, the day is longer than one day, Yang Qi rise, is the beginning of a cycle of festivals, is also an auspicious day, should be celebrated. The Book of Jin" on the record "Wei Jin winter solstice day by all the countries and bureaucrats to congratulate ...... its instrument subdivided into the first day." This shows the importance of the winter solstice in ancient times.

Now, some places still take the winter solstice as a festival. Northern regions have the custom of slaughtering sheep, eating dumplings and wontons on the winter solstice, while southern regions have the habit of eating winter solstice rice balls and winter solstice long thread noodles on this day. All regions also have the custom of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors on this day of the winter solstice.)

Lunar New Year's Day

The eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar

(In ancient times, December was called Lunar New Year when sacrifices were made to the gods, and so the twelfth month of the lunar calendar was called Lunar New Year. On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, it is customary to drink Laha congee. Legend has it that Siddhartha Gautama attained Buddhahood on this day, so monasteries cook congee for the Buddha every day, and then folk custom until today.)

New Year's Eve

The 30th day of the 12th month of the Lunar Calendar

(The night of the 30th day of the Lunar Calendar is called New Year's Eve. The original meaning of the word "除" is "to go", which is derived from "易"[交替]; the original meaning of the word "夕" is "sunset". The original meaning of the character "夕" is "sunset", which is derived from "night". Therefore, the night of New Year's Eve contains the meaning of "the old year will be removed here, and the new year will be replaced tomorrow". The word "New Year's Eve" means to get rid of the old and bring in the new. New Year's Eve first originated in the pre-Qin period, "by removing". According to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals - The Record of the Seasonal Winter", the ancients used to beat drums on the day before New Year's Eve to get rid of "epidemics and plague ghosts", so that the coming year would be free from diseases and calamities. This is the origin of the "New Year's Eve" festival. "New Year's Eve" in ancient times there are many other names, such as in addition to the night, in addition to the year, in addition to the year, in addition to the big, big end and so on. Although there are many names, but it is always the meaning of sending the old to welcome the new, to get rid of the disease and eliminate disasters.)

The Spring Festival

The first day of the first month of the lunar calendar

(is the first year of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the "big year. The origin of the Spring Festival has a history of about four thousand years in China. It is one of the most lively and grandest traditional festivals in China. Ancient Spring Festival, refers to the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar, "spring" season, after the North and South Dynasties will be the Spring Festival at the end of the year, and refers to the entire spring, when the earth back to spring, everything is renewed, people will take it as the beginning of a new year. In the early years of the Republic of China after the Xinhai Revolution, the first day of the first month of the year was designated as the Spring Festival after the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian [solar] calendar. It was not until September 27, 1949, that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference officially designated the first day of the first month of the new year as the Spring Festival, and many people still call the Spring Festival the Chinese New Year).

Nian:

(Everyone often refers to the Spring Festival as "Chinese New Year", but the original meaning of "Nian" is not the same as today's. It is said that in the very ancient times, the word "Nian" was used to refer to "Chinese New Year". It is said that in ancient times, there was the most vicious beast in the world called "Nian". It grew bigger than a camel. It ran faster than the wind and roared louder than thunder. When it came out, it ate people and hurt animals, and people's lives were seriously threatened. In order to punish the "year", the gods locked it into the mountains, only allowed it to come out once a year. People in the long-term practice, found that the "year" has "three fears" - afraid of red color, afraid of loud noise, afraid of fire. So, one year, on the night of the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, people put red paper on the door, and constantly beat the gongs and drums, firecrackers, and light up the house all night long. "Year" came at night to see, bright lights in every house; listen, everywhere the sound of firecrackers, scared it did not dare to enter the village. During the day, it sneaked down the mountain, see still red on the door of every house, thud everywhere, scared it scared, turned around and ran back. Since then, the "year" has not dared to come back, it is said to starve to death in the mountains and old forests. Later on, people turned the prevention of "Nian" and "Nianxuan" into a peaceful and stable New Year. There is no more "Nian", but the custom of celebrating the New Year still remains. Bright red spring couplets, brilliant lights, crisp firecrackers and loud gongs and drums are still celebrated every year.)

Traditional Festivals

The following festivals are counted according to the lunar calendar (also known as the summer calendar, lunar calendar):

1, the first day of the first month of the Spring Festival, which in ancient times was known by more than 30 different names such as Yuanyuan Day, Yuandan, Yuancheng, Yuanchen, Yuanshuosuo, Sanyuan, Sanchaosheng, Sanzheng, Zhengdan, Zhengshuo and so on

2, the first five days of the first month of the birthday of the God of the Road

3, the first fifteenth month of the first month. Shangyuan Festival (Lantern Festival)

4, 2nd day of February, Spring Dragon Festival, also known as Dragon Head Raising Festival

5, 15th day of February, Flower Dynasty Festival

6, the day before Ching Ming Festival, Cold Food Festival

7, 3rd day of March, Shangsi Festival, Legend says that the Queen Mother had a Peach Festival

8, 15th day after the Spring Equinox, Ching Ming Festival (now set on the 5th day of the 4th month of the Chinese calendar)

9, 8th day of April, Ching Ming Festival (now set on the 5th day of the 4th month of the solar calendar)

10, 8th day of April, Ching Ming Festival (now set on the 5th day of the 4th month of the solar calendar)

11

9, April 8, Buddha's Birthday, also known as the Festival of the Cow after this day the cow will come down to the ground.

10, May 5th Dragon Boat Festival

11, Summer Solstice

12, June 6th Sun Fu Festival "June 6th, sun red and green." "Auntie Festival" "June 6, please auntie", in ancient times there is another festival, called Tian Kuang (give gift meaning) Festival, June 6 is also a festival in Buddhist temples, called the festival of turning the scriptures.

13,July 7, commonly known as Tanabata, July 7, Beggar's Day

14,July 15 Zhongyuan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, Bon Festival.

15,July 30 Jizi Festival

16,August 15 Mid-Autumn Festival

17,September 9 Chung Yeung Festival

18,October 1 Oct. Dynasty, also known as Ancestor's Day

19,October 15 Lower Yuanshi Festival

20,October 15 Lower Yuanshi Festival.

20,November 22, the winter solstice

21,December 8, Lunar New Year's Day

22,Lunar New Year's Day, the 23rd day of the month of Lunar Cave Festival, the Day of the Sacrifice of the Stove, commonly known as the "over the small year", also known as the small year, small years, small years under the small year's day

23, the last day of the month of Lunar New Year's Day, in addition to the Day, in the evening of the day called New Year's Eve, the big day of New Year's Eve, and the day of the big day of the big day of the big day of Lunar New Year. The evening of New Year's Day is called New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, the night of the festival, the big end, etc., the folk said the year 30, the New Year's Eve

There are also several sages' birthdays:

Guandi's Birthday :June 24

The Most Sacred Teacher's Birthday of Confucius :August 27

Cangjie the Most Sacred Teacher's Birthday : March 28

Lu Ban Gong's Birthday :June 13 (the seventh day of the month of May):

Fu Xi's Birthday :May 13 (the legendary birthday of the dragon)

Yan Di Shen Nong's Birthday :April 26

Huang Di's Birthday :February 2

Zhuge Kongming's Birthday :July 23

Meng Zi's Birthday :April 2

Yue Fei's Birthday ; February 15

Lao Zi's Birthday :February 15

Shakyamuni Buddha's birthday: the eighth day of the fourth month

Qu Yuan's birthday: the twenty-first day of the first month

Sixth Patriarch Huineng's birthday: the eighth day of the second month

Attachment 1:

Lunar month twenty-third/twenty-fourth stove festival

Lunar month twenty-seventh/twenty-eighth bath

Lunar month twenty-ninth little New Year's eve

The second day of the first month of the first month of the festival to worship the god of fortune

On the third day of the first month of the lunar calendar, paper is burned for the God of Wealth, the birthday of Guzi, and the New Year's Eve

On the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, it is commonly known as the Day of the Breaking of the Fifth Day. Also known as "People's Victory Day", "People's Celebration Day", "People's Population Day", "People's Seventh Day"

The eighth day of the first month of the lunar year, Gu Ri/ Shun Xing, the day when the stars come down to the world, is also known as "Sacrificing the Stars",

The tenth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the stone, the "stone does not move", the "ten does not move", and the marriage of the mouse

Attachment 2: Other festivals:

"Half-Year Festival" is a festival that is celebrated on the tenth day of the first lunar month, the "Half-Year Festival".

Guanyin Festival: February 19 June 19 September 19 November 19 The belief in the Goddess of Mercy has gone beyond the scope of Buddhism, he is a culture, a desire !!!!

The 23rd day of the third month of the lunar calendar is the birthday of Mazu every year!

The first day of the seventh month, commonly known as the opening of the interest gate

Fill the Cang Festival Traditional Chinese Han folk festival, on the 25th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. Also known as Tim Cang Festival, Tian Cang Festival, is the festival of sacrifices to the god Cang

Chinese traditional festivals in English and Chinese

1. New Year's Day New Year's Day (January 1)

2. Spring Festival; Chinese New Year's Day 春节(the first day of January on the lunar calendar)

3. Lantern Festival (January 15)

4. International Working Women's Day International Working Women's Day (March 8)

5. Arbor Day Arbor Day (March 12)

6. Postal Day Postal Day (March 20)

7. Postal Day (March 20)

7. World Meteorology Day World Meteorological Day (March 23)

8. Ching Ming Festival ;Tomb-sweeping Festival Qingming Festival (April 5)

9. International Labor Day International Labor Day (May 5)

9. International Labor Day (May 1)

10. Chinese Youth Day Chinese Youth Day (May 4)

11. Nurses' Festival Nurses' Day (May 12)

12. Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar)

International Children's Day (June 1)

14. The Party's Brithday (July 1)

15. The Army's Day (August 1)

16. Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15 on the lunar calendar)

17. Teacher's Day Teacher's Day (September 10)

18. Double-ninth Day Chongyang Day (September 9 on the lunar calendar)

19. National Day National Day (October 1)

20. New Year's Eve New Year's Eve (December 30 on the lunar calendar)

Chinese common traditional activities in English and Chinese

Celebrate the spring festival

Spring festival couplets

paper-cuts paper-cuts

new year paintings new year paintings

buy new year's goods do shopping for the spring festival ; do spring festival shopping

propose a toast

Lanterns

Fireworks

Firecrackers firecrackers (people scare off evil spirits and ghosts with the loud pop.)

Red packets red packets (cash wrapped up in red paper, symbolize fortune and wealth in the coming year.)

Lion dance lion dance (the lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good The lion dance (the lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good luck.)

Dragon dance dragon dance (to expect good weather and good harvests)

Opera traditional opera

Variety show

Lantern riddles written on lanterns

Lantern exhibition of lanterns

Staying-up

Pay new year's call; give new year's greetings; pay new year's visit

Taboo taboo

get rid of the ill- fortune

offer sacrifices to one's ancestors

压岁钱 gift money; money given to children as a lunar new year gift culture note. year gift culture note: in the old days, new year's money was given in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together on a red string and symbolized the hope that one would live to be a hundred years old. today, money is placed inside red envelopes in denominations considered auspicious and given to represent luck and wealth

Bid farewell to the old year

Sweeping spring cleaning; general house-cleaning

Nian-gao; rise cake; new year cake

family reunion dinner

the dinner on new year's eve

dumplings jiao-zi; chinese meat ravioli