| Date |
English Name |
Chinese Name |
Comments |
| Last day of lunar year |
Chinese New Year Eve |
除夕(chúxī)，大年夜 |
Clean the house, put up new posters
of "door gods" on front doors, blow
up fireworks before the family reunion dinner,
which should be at least a 10 course meal with
a whole fish entrée symbolizing the abundance
of the coming year. (The fish entrée should not
be consumed completely because the leftover symbolizes
the abundance) There are also many taboos concerning
what brings luck and what doesn't. Here are some:
Do not say any unlucky words related to death
or bad fortune; if you drop or break anything
you should say "Fa Hoi Foo Guai", which
means prosperity is coming; do not cry, which
means you will cry for the whole year; do not
borrow money, which implies insufficiency, etc.
Each year, there are different lucky directions
and positions in the house, and different measures
should be taken in those places. <There are
countless beliefs ruling what you should and should
not do, and the ones listed here are only a few.> |
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| 1st day of 1st lunar month |
Spring Festival;
Chinese New Year |
新年(xīnnián), 农历新年, 春節, 春节,大年初一
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More fireworks after midnight,
visit family members. |
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| 15th day of 1st lunar month |
Lantern Festival |
元宵節(yuánxiāojié)/元宵节，小年 |
Lantern parade and lion dance celebrating
the first full moon. Eating tangyuan. This day
is also the last day of new year celebration. |
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| 2nd day of 2nd lunar month |
Zhonghe Festival;
Zhong He Jie;
Blue Dragon Festival |
中和節(zhōnghéjié)/中和节, 青龙节 (qinglong
jie)/青龙節 |
Eat Chinese pancakes (Chun bing,
春饼) and noodles, clean the house. Also known as
Dragon Raising its Head |
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| 3rd day of 3rd lunar month |
Shangsi Festival;
Shang Si Jie |
上巳節 (shàngsìjié)/上巳节 |
Traditional Chinese Women's Day,
also known as 女儿节 (nǚérjié) |
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At the jie qi known as qing ming,
solar longitude 15 degrees, 104 days after winter
solstice (around April 5)
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Qing Ming Jie;
Tomb Sweeping Day;
Mourning Day;
Ching Ming Festival (HK) |
清明節(qīngmíngjié)/清明节 |
Visit, clean, and make offerings
at ancestral grave sites, spring outing
Jonno's missive Qing
Ming relates to a family version of this festival.
Notably his Cantonese family hold their Qing Ming
2-weeks before the set date; a practice many other
villagers throughout China also follow - holding
their special family day before the official date. |
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| 5th day of 5th lunar month |
Dragon Boat Festival;
Dragon Festival;
Tuen Ng Festival (HK) |
端午節(duānwǔjié)/端午节 |
Dragon boat race, eat dumplings
wrapped in lotus leaves Zongzi. This festival
commemorates the ancient poet Qu Yuan; drink yellow
rice wine, related to the White Snake Lady legend |
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6th day of 6th lunar month
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Bathing and Basking Festival (Xi
Shai Jie) |
洗晒节 (xǐshàijié)/洗晒節 |
Put books, sheets, cloth under
the sun. |
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| 7th day of 7th lunar month |
The Night of Sevens;
Magpie Festival;
Qi Xi |
七夕(qīxī) |
Chinese Valentine's Day.
According to legend, the goddess "Zhi Nü"
(the star Vega) fell in love with the farmer boy
"Niu Lang" (the star Altair), but was
disapproved by the her mother goddess. As punishment,
they were separated by the Milky Way and could
only meet once a year on this night. |
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| 15th day of 7th lunar month |
Spirit Festival; Ghost Festival |
中元節(zhōngyuánjié)/中元节 |
Burn fake paper money and make
offerings to ancestors and the dead to appease
them, so they will not come and trouble the living. |
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| 15th day of 8th lunar month |
Mid-Autumn Festival;
Moon Festival |
中秋節(zhōngqiūjié)/中秋节 |
Eat mooncake, family union meal,
related to the legend of Chang E |
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| 9th day of 9th lunar month |
Double Ninth Festival;
Dual-Yang Festival;
Chung Yeung Festival (HK) |
重陽節(chóngyángjié)/重阳节 |
Autumn outing and mountain climbing,
some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors
to pay their respects. |
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| 15th day of the 10th lunar month
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Spirit Festival;
Water Lantern Festival |
下元節 (xiayuanjie)/下元节 |
Set flower shaped lanterns adrift
in a stream or river at sundown, give offerings
to deceased whose wandering spirits/ghosts may
return at night to visit. |
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| 7th day of the 11th lunar month
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Winter Solstice Festival;
Mid-Winter Festival |
冬至(dōngzhì) |
Have Tangyuan and Jiuniang and
perform ancestor worship, Feast day, family gatherings,
also named "Chinese Thanksgiving" |
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| 8th day of 12th lunar month |
Laba Festival;
Congee Festival (HK) |
腊八节(làbājié) |
This is the day the Buddha attained
enlightenment. People usually eat Laba congee,
which is made of mixed grains and fruits. |
