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The Chinese, like other peoples, observe two sets of holidays, official and
traditional.
In addition, minority nationalities in China have their own unique celebrations.
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao also have their own official and traditional
holidays.
Official Chinese Holidays
- New Year's Day (January 1)
- Not as much celebrated as it is in other parts of the world because it is
overshadowed by the upcoming Chinese New Year somewhere a month away.
However, employees will enjoy a paid day-off. And there will be parties
everywhere, in parks, dancing halls and universities where students will
leave for the winter vacation.
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- International Women's Day (March 8)
- Interestingly, women employees will get a whole or an half paid day-off on
the day while the men are at the mercy of their employers.
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- Tree-Planting Day (April 1)
- Highly promoted since the late 70's by the reformist government and yet to
become established. It marks the beginning of a greening campaign all over
the country during the month each year.
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- International Labor Day (May 1)
- No less celebrated than the New Year's Day. Employees will enjoy a paid
day-off. Celebration parties in parks took the place of parades today.
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- Youth Day (May 4)
- A day in memory of the first mass student movement in 1919, a movement
touched off by the then Chinese government that gave in to the Japanese
government's attempt to colonize Shandong Province. It is also an
anti-Confucius movement as well as one that promoted the western scientific
and democratic ideas. Government organized youth activities everywhere in the
country today characterizes the celebration of this day.
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- Children's Day (June 1)
- It is the most memorable day of Chinese kids all over the country. Almost
all entertainment places such as cinemas, parks and children museums and
palaces are open free to them. Elementary schools throw celebration parties
while parents shower them with presents.
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- The CCP's Birthday (July 1)
- It marked the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 in
Shanghai. It is usually characterized by front page editorials from major
government newspapers.
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- Army's Day (August 1)
- A communist-led nationalist army staged the first armed uprising in
Chinese communist history against the Nationalists on August 1, 1927. It was
regarded as the beginning of the Red Army (later the People's Liberation
Army). Now the anniversary is often used to promote better relationships
between the army and civilians, a tradition believed to have helped it beat
the Nationalists during the civil war in 1949.
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- Teacher's Day (September 1)
- It was started in the early eighties as an effort to reverse the
anti-intellectual sentiment nurtured by the "Cultural
Revolution". It is yet to become an established holiday.
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- National Day (October 1)
- It is the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in
1949 in the wake of routing the Nationalists who have since taken refuge in
Taiwan. There used to be grand parades squares of major cities of the
country. Now celebrations usually take the form of parties in amusement
parks by day and fire-works and grand TV ensembles during the evening.
Employees enjoy two paid days-off. It is also a good occasion for many
people to take a short excursion to enjoy the beauty of the golden Fall.
Chinese Traditional Holidays
The calendar the Chinese traditional holidays follow is
of a unique lunar-solar system.
Therefore, 1st of the 1st month referred here does not necessarily mean January
1.
Come here to see the
details of the Chinese calendar.
- Lantern Festival (15th of the 1st
month)
- Lantern exhibits, lion and dragon dances, and eating Tang Yuan
(ball-shaped boiled sweet rice dumplings with delicious stuffing.) feature
this day. It is very much celebrated in the rural areas by farmers. The
Lantern Festival also marks the end of the Chinese New Year season.
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- Qing Ming (Pure & Bright in Chinese) (Fifth
of the 24 Solar Terms)
- Originally it was a celebration of spring. People used to customarily go
out on an excursion to "tread grass". Later it became day
dedicated to the dear departed. Tidying up ancestors' tombs is its major big
event.
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- Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival (5th of the 5th
month)
- Said to be in memory of a great patriot poet of the then State of Chu
during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.), Qu Yuan (Ch'u Yuan), who
drowned himself to protest his emperor who gave in to the bully State of
Chin. For fear that fish may consume his body, people of Chu threw launched
their boats and started throwing rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves
into the river where he was drowned to feed the fish. Now the big event of
dragon boat contest may be a legacy of such activity. People today still eat
the bamboo-leave rice dumplings on the occasion today.
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- The Seventh Eve (7th of the seventh month)
It is a traditional holiday almost lost to the younger generations today.
It originates from a beautiful legend about a cowboy and a fairy who were cruelly
separated and reunited once each year on this happy sad occasion. A
more detailed story is forthcoming.
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It is second only to the Chinese New Year in significance. The moon on
this day is the fullest and largest to the eye. Viewing it by the whole
family while feasting on good wine, fruits and moon-cakes features the night
event. There is also a beautiful story behind it. Children are told that
there's fairy on the moon living in a spacious but cold crystal palace with
her sole companion, a jade rabbit. A heavenly general and friend would
occasionally pay her a visit, bringing along his fragrant wine. She would
then dance a beautiful dance. The shadows on the moon made the story all the
more credible and fascinating to the young imaginative minds.
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The biggest and most celebrated festival in China and part of east and
south east Asia. For more details, please refer to my Chinese
New Year homepage.
Chinese Minority Nationalities' Holidays
There are 56 nationalities in China and each of
them has their own festivals. The following only lists the major events in
the minority group. ( Info
for Minority Group in China)
The Zhuang Song Festival
The Bai Third Moon Fair
The Dai (Tai) Water sprinkling Festival
The Tibetan New Year
The Mongolian Nadam Fair
The Yao Danu Festival
The Yi Torch Festival
The Miao New Year Festival
The Dong Fire-Works Festival
The Bouyei Dancing Party
The
Tujia,
Hui,
Dongxiang, Baoan Songfest
The Moslem Corban Festival
The Jing Singing Festival
The Lisu Scimitar Rung Festival
The Jingbo Dancing Festival
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