What month was Teacher's Day in ancient times?

Teachers' Day in ancient times was the 27th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

In the Han and Jin Dynasties, every Confucius' birthday (August 27th on the lunar calendar), the emperor would lead civil and military officials to worship the Confucius Temple, and would also invite the teachers to dinner. Although Confucius' birthday was not explicitly established as the Teachers' Day at that time, it had been agreed from the emperor to the people that the celebrations would be held on this day, and that the gentlemen around the world would enjoy the benefits of vacation on this day.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Confucius Birthday Ceremony was held everywhere on this day, which was very solemn at that time. The State Academy, the local academies, and the famous book schools in states, prefectures, and counties would also select those with outstanding teaching achievements as sifu and report them to the imperial court, and these advanced educators would be rewarded with silver.

During the Qing Dynasty, the scale and scope of the Confucius Birthday Ceremony became more and more ambitious, and the teachers with the most outstanding achievements would be awarded the title of eighth grade on this day, and elevated to the rank of dean, supervisors, masters, and pavilion masters, and so on. Many famous scholars of the Qing Dynasty, such as Yan Yuan, Ruan Yuan and Hui Shiqi, were promoted at that time.

Contemporary Celebration of Teachers' Day

Since Teachers' Day is not a traditional Chinese holiday, it is celebrated differently in different places every year, without a uniform, fixed form.

On the part of the government and schools, there are celebrations and commendation assemblies for Teachers' Day, where prizes and certificates are awarded to teachers; there are activities such as organizing school students, singing and dancing troupes, etc., to present songs and dances for teachers; there are visits to, and condolences for, representatives of teachers; and there are activities such as organizing collective oath-taking by newly-employed teachers.

On the part of students, some spontaneously expressed their sincere blessings and heartfelt greetings to teachers through original participation, writing their blessings on boards, greeting cards and paintings; and by posting group photos and testimonials of the activities on their personal space and microblogs.

In Hong Kong, on Teachers' Day, a ceremony is held to recognize outstanding teachers, and greeting cards are also printed, which students can receive for free and then fill out and give to their teachers. Cards, flowers, dolls and other small gifts are usually the most common gifts for Hong Kong students to express their blessings to teachers on Teachers' Day.