List of observances set by the Chinese calendar

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The traditional Chinese holidays are an essential part of harvests or prayer offerings. The most important Chinese holiday is the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), which is also celebrated in overseas ethnic Chinese communities (for example in Malaysia, Thailand or the USA). [1] [2] Traditional holidays are varied from region to region but most are scheduled according to the Chinese calendar (exceptions, like the Qing Ming and Winter Solstice days, fall on the respective Jie qi (solar terms) in the Agricultural calendar).

Contents

Date (Chinese Lunar Calendar)Gregorian dateEnglish NameChinese NameRemarks
1st day of 1st MonthJanuary 25, 2020 Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) 農曆新年 / 农历新年
 春節 / 春节
 大年初一
Set off fireworks after midnight; visit family members
7th day of the 1st monthJanuary 31, 2020 Renri  人日
15th day of the 1st monthFebruary 8, 2020 Lantern Festival  元宵節 / 元宵节Lantern parade and lion dance celebrating the first full moon. Eating tangyuan. This day is also the last day of new year celebration. This is Tourism Day in Taiwan
2nd day of the 2nd monthFebruary 24, 2020 Zhonghe Festival (Blue Dragon Festival) 中和節 / 中和节
 青龍節 / 青龙节
Eat Chinese pancakes (Chun bing, 春餅) and noodles, clean the house. Also known as Dragon Raising its Head This is Earth God's Birthday in Taiwan
Third day of third monthMarch 26, 2020 Shangsi Festival 上巳節 / 上巳节Traditional Chinese Women's Day, also known as 婦女節/妇女节(fùnǚjié).
Third day of third monthMarch 26, 2020 Sam Nyied Sam 三月三Celebrated by the Zhuang people, an ethnic minority.
At the Qingming solar term, solar longitude of 15°, 104 days after winter solstice April 4, 2020 Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Clear and Bright Festival)清明節 / 清明节Visit, clean, and make offerings at ancestral gravesites, spring outing
105th day after dongzhiApril 5 by the Gregorian calendar, except in leap years Cold Food Festival
15th day of 3rd lunar monthApril 7, 2020 [3] God of Medicine's Birthday保生大帝誕辰 Public holiday in Taiwan
23rd day of 3rd lunar monthApril 15, 2020 [4] Matsu's Birthday媽祖誕辰 Public holiday in Taiwan
Eighth day of the fourth monthApril 30, 2020 Buddha's Birthday 佛誕 / 佛诞Visit Buddhist temple, offer food to the monks
Eighth day of the fourth monthMay 9–13, 2020 Cheung Chau Bun Festival 包山節/長洲太平清醮
Fifth day of the fifth monthJune 25, 2020 Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival)端午節 / 端午节Dragon boat race, eat sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves Zongzi (粽子). This festival commemorates the ancient poet Qu Yuan; drink yellow rice wine, related to the White Snake Lady legend
13th day of 5th lunar monthJuly 3, 2020 [5] Kuan Kung's Birthday and Cheng Huang's Birthday關公誕辰Celebrated in Taiwan
Sixth day of the sixth monthJuly 26, 2020 Double Sixth Festival 六月六 / 天贶节
24th or 25th of 6th monthAugust 13–15, 2020 Torch Festival 火把节
Seventh day of the 7th monthAugust 25, 2020 Qixi Festival (The Night of Sevens, Magpie Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day)七夕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 her mother goddess. As punishment, they were separated by the Milky Way and could only meet once a year on this night.
15th night of the seventh month (14th in parts of southern China)September 2, 2020 Ghost Festival 中元節 / 中元节Burn fake paper money and make offerings to ancestors and the dead to comfort them in the afterlife and keep them from troubling the living.
15th day of the 8th monthOctober 1, 2020 Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)中秋節 / 中秋节Eat mooncake, family union meal, related to the legend of Chang E, the Jade Rabbit and The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, also called "Chinese Thanksgiving".
16th day of the 8th monthOctober 2, 2020 [6] Monkey King Festival 齊天大聖千秋
26th day of the 8th monthOctober 12, 2020Food Extermination Day绝粮日Commemorate when Nurhaci's troops ran out of food, Northeast China specific
Eve of the ninth month; goes on for nine daysOctober 16-October 25, 2020 Nine Emperor Gods Festival
9th day of the 9th monthOctober 25, 2020 Double Ninth Festival (Chongyang Festival)重陽節 / 重阳节Autumn outing and mountain climbing, some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects.
15th day of 10th lunar monthNovember 29, 2020 [7] Saisiat Festival 賽夏節Pas-taai Festival of the Saisiat tribe in Taiwan
At the Dongzhi solar term, solar longitude of 270°, the day of winter solstice (around 21-22 Dec.)December 21, 2020 Dongzhi Festival (Winter Solstice Festival)冬至Have Tangyuan and Jiuniang and perform ancestor worship, Feast day, family gatherings, also named "Chinese Thanksgiving"
8th day the 12th monthJanuary 21, 2021 Laba Festival 臘八節 / 腊八节This is the day the Buddha attained enlightenment. People usually eat Laba congee, which is made of mixed grains and fruits. Beginning of the preparation for Chinese new year.
Last day of lunar yearFebruary 11, 2021 Chinese New Year’s Eve  除夕
 大年夜

Public holidays

Traditional holidays are generally celebrated in Chinese-speaking regions. For the most part however, only Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are statutory public holidays. This is the case in both mainland China and Taiwan whilst Hong Kong and Macau also observe Buddha's Birthday and Chung Yeung Festival. In Singapore, Chinese New Year is the only traditional Chinese public holiday, likewise with Malaysia.

Each region has its own holidays on top of this condensed traditional Chinese set. Mainland China and Taiwan observe patriotic holidays, Hong Kong and Macau observe Christian holidays, and Malaysia and Singapore celebrate Malay and Indian festivals.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mainland China</span> Geopolitical area comprising a large part of China

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Day of the Republic of China</span> National holiday in the Republic of China

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double Ninth Festival</span> Traditional Chinese holiday

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar New Year</span> Beginning of a year in a lunar calendar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragon Boat Festival</span> Chinese holiday

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Autumn Festival</span> Chinese harvest festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of autumn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qingming Festival</span> Chinese festival honouring ancestors

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddha's Birthday</span> Birthday of Siddhartha Gautama

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Events and festivals in Macau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese New Year</span> Traditional Chinese holiday

Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, observances traditionally take place from Chinese New Year's Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.

Confucius’ Birthday, falls on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is officially celebrated on Taiwan as "Teachers' Day" on September 28, and in Hong Kong on the third Sunday of September as "Confucius Day", though the traditional date is also often observed. Mainland China observes a "Teachers' Day" on September 10 to celebrate the efforts of today's teachers, and there is a legislative effort underway to move that to September 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birthday of the Monkey God</span>

The Birthday of the Monkey God is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated in Singapore on the 15th or 16th day of the First Lunar Month. The dates on the Western Calendar vary from year to year. It marks the birthday of Sun Wukong, the protagonist in the classical novel Journey to the West. The popular celebratory customs associated with the Birthday of the Monkey God have both secular and religious (Taoist) themes. This is not to be confused with the Monkey King Festival celebrated in China on the 16th day of the Eighth Lunar Calendar.

References

  1. Hui, Vikki (2022-01-31). "Lunar New Year is celebrated across Asian communities, but each has their own traditions". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  2. "Lunar New Year 2022: What does the holiday and the Year of the Tiger represent?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-07-24. The United States is also home to some celebrations. Overall, over about 1.5 billion people across the world will take part in the festivities.
  3. "God of Medicine's Birthday in Taiwan".
  4. "Matsu's Birthday in Taiwan".
  5. "Kuan Kung's Birthday in Taiwan".
  6. "Hong Kong Holidays and Festivals - 2020".
  7. "Saisiat Festival in Taiwan".