Chinese New Year dragon.
China has the distinction of being one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, dating back to at least 2100 BC. With such an old culture comes old traditions, including national holidays. Chinese people, whether they live in China or are living elsewhere, celebrate many different national holidays. These holidays often pay homage to ancestors, or celebrate seasonal happenings. The majority of Chinese holidays are celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Buddhist Festivals
Buddhism is one of the predominant religions in Chinese culture. Special holy days within Buddhism include the birthdays of several important Buddhist figures. One festival is dedicated to feeding hungry ghosts and is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. During holy day festivals, Buddhists visit holy temples to offer up prayers. They also leave fruits, incense, flowers and monetary donations at the temples in the hopes of appeasing spirits. Buddhists eat only vegetarian foods on the days of these festivals.
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year also goes by the name of Spring Festival. It is considered to be the most important of all Chinese holidays. Spring Festival gives Chinese people a chance to reconnect with family and honor ancestors. In traditional Chinese culture, the New Year period was from the middle of the 12th month until the middle of the first month of the new year. Businesses in China usually stop operating so that people can focus completely on the festival. Families clean house to appease gods and to clear out "huiqi," or inauspicious breaths. Paper and food sacrifices are set out, and people explode firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. On the night before the new year begins, extended families eat a large meal, then on the last day of the celebration, full-moon-shaped dumplings are shared among the family. There are also large celebratory parades to ring in the new year.
Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival, seen as a way to connect the living with the dead, is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The seventh lunar month is known as Ghost Month; during this month, ghosts come back to earth to visit with people. During the Ghost Festival, people offer food to the visiting ghosts and burn paper money. Participants in this festival make paper boats and lanterns, then set them on water to show lost ghosts the way home.
Moon Festival
The Moon Festival is also referred to as Mid-Autumn Festival and is celebrated in China, Vietnam, Korea and other east Asia countries. This holiday, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, tells the story of Houyi and Chang'e. Houyi is a warrior charged with the task of shooting out nine of the 10 suns that circled the earth in ancient times. After doing this, he was given a pill to grant immortality; his wife Chang'e swallowed the pill and flew up into the sky, landing on the moon to live with the Jade Rabbit. The Moon Festival is the day each year on which Houyi visits his wife on the moon. Participants enjoy family reunions on this day; the Chinese eat moon cakes and enjoy drinks all day.
Tomb Sweeping Day
This holiday follows the solar calendar rather than lunar and is celebrated between April 4 and 6. The Chinese name for the festival, Qing Ming, translates to "clear brightness." The festival celebrates nature's rebirth and the start of planting. To celebrate, Chinese people head to family grave plots to tidy them up, then place food by the graves. Kite flying is another way to celebrate Tomb Sweeping Day.
Tags: lunar month, celebrated 15th, Chinese people, Chinese Year, Ghost Festival, Moon Festival