What are the traditional Chinese festivals and customs?

Traditional Chinese Festivals and Customs

Chinese New Year:

At the beginning of the year, everything is renewed, and the main activities are eating New Year's Eve dinner, making sacrifices, and observing the New Year's Eve, etc. In addition, the first, second, and third days of the first month of the first lunar month are three days of the New Year, and sacrifices are made for offerings as well. During these three days, no work is usually done except for cooking, and it is taboo to say unlucky words and visit the closest and honored relatives. From the first to the fifteenth day of the Spring Festival, a variety of temple fairs, social fires, and rural theater are also held in various places, making it the most lively and extravagant of the traditional festivals.

Metal Lantern Festival:

The 15th day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar is the Lantern Festival, which is also known as the Yuanxi Festival, Shangyuan Festival and Lantern Festival. The festival has the custom of eating lanterns, watching lanterns, playing social fire, guessing riddles and so on. In addition to eating the Lantern Festival, there are also many different food customs around the world. Shaanxi people eat "Lantern Tea", that is, in the noodle soup into a variety of vegetables and fruits made; Henan Luoyang, Lingbao area to eat jujube cake; Yunnan Kunming people eat more bean dough.

February 2:

Commonly known as "Dragon Head Raising", also known as the Green Dragon Festival, is a year of agricultural production began to mark. Activities include spreading ashes to attract dragons, smoking insects, picking vegetables, avoiding needle and thread (to prevent "tie up the dragon's eye"). Records about the customs of this festival in the Tang Dynasty. As for the February 2 this day to eat and drink, a change in the Spring Festival during the big eat greasy wind, to move vegetarian.

Cold Food Festival, Qingming Festival:

Sweeping ancestral tombs, trekking in spring, avoiding fireworks.

April 8:

According to legend, it is the birth date of Shakyamuni, more temple fairs and pilgrimage activities.

Duanwu Festival:

Also known as the Duanyang Festival, it is said to commemorate Qu Yuan. Mainly eat zongzi, dragon boat racing activities, some places such as Qinghai and tie rope (with five-color silk thread twisted into a thin rope, tied to the wrists of the hands and feet), inserted willow, wear incense packets and other customs, in order to be used to drive away insects and pray for good luck and peace.

June 6:

Also known as the "sun worms Festival", "June 6, sun silk" folk proverb. This day at noon drying silk, silk, leather, wool and other often unworn clothing, in order to prevent insect infestation. There are also "turning the scripture will" "sun robe will", etc., Shaanxi, there are also put fishing river lamps and draw water to make wine activities, some areas also held a "June field" activities, young men and women through the song, drive table, throw flower bag form, seeking love. Young men and women seek love objects by singing songs, catching tables, and throwing flower bags. June 6 is also a major festival of the Buyi and Yao ethnic groups.

Seven Charms Festival:

Also known as the Begging for Charms Festival, it is said to be the day when the Cowherd and the Weaving Maiden meet at the Magpie Bridge. Folk generally set up offering table that night, women begging for coincidence, in order to give good female labor. There are also young men and women talk about love, also known as the Chinese festival of love.

Mid-Autumn Festival:

Also known as the Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, August will be, chasing the moon festival, playing the moon festival, moon festival, worship festival, the daughter of the festival or reunion festival, the day of the family reunion to enjoy the moon, eat moon cakes, the original there is a "burning bucket incense", "walk the moon! "burning incense", "walking on the moon", "releasing lanterns", "tree mid-autumn festival", "lighting pagoda lamps", "fire dragon dance "Tree Mid-Autumn Festival", "Lighting Pagoda Lanterns", "Fire Dragon Dance", "Trailing Stones", "Selling Rabbits", and other festivals and activities. This festival is more emphasized by overseas travelers, and many ethnic minorities also celebrate this festival.

Chrysanthemum Festival:

The festival takes the meaning of the 9th day of the 9th moon. The main activities of the festival are climbing up the mountain, enjoying chrysanthemums, drinking wine, etc. It is quite popular among the elderly, so it is also called the "Festival of the Elderly".

October 1:

Commonly known as the "Ghost Festival", "Cold Clothes Festival", but also ancestor worship festival. As the saying goes, "October 1, send cold clothes", at dusk on this day, families will go to the graves to pay homage to their ancestors. If you can't go to the grave for some reason or are far away from home, make a circle in the center of the field or at the crossroads and burn paper money.

Winter Solstice:

The winter solstice is a very important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar, but also a traditional festival. The winter solstice is commonly known as the "winter festival", "long solstice festival", "YaYu" and so on. In the north, there is the custom of slaughtering sheep, eating dumplings and wontons on the winter solstice, while in the south, there is the custom of eating winter solstice rice balls and winter solstice long thread noodles on this day. Various regions in the winter solstice on this day there is also the custom of sacrificing to the sky and ancestors.

La Ba Festival:

People customarily call the twelfth month of the lunar calendar as Lunar New Year, and the first eight days of Lunar New Year as Lunar New Year or Lunar New Year's Eve, and treat it as a traditional festival, namely, Lunar New Year's Eve. Many customs related to the waxing moon or waxing eight are also often labeled with the word "waxing". This day is said to be the day Shakyamuni became a Buddha, many places eat Laha congee, Laha is actually the beginning of the preparations for the Spring Festival.

Besides that, there are traditional festivals with different folklore in different parts of the world. Our ancestors have created many folk festivals over thousands of years, including production, life, food culture, etiquette, and simple and magical scientific ideas, leaving us with a valuable spiritual heritage that is worthy of being carried forward and inherited

These festivals are the first of their kind in China.