Major Chinese Festivals and Celebrations

Chinese culture revolves around a rich lunisolar calendar of festivals. The most significant include:

• 春节 Chūn Jié (Spring Festival / Chinese New Year): The paramount holiday. Families reunite for feasts, give hóngbāo (red envelopes with money), set off fireworks, and honor ancestors. Falls Jan 21–Feb 20.
• 清明节 Qīng Míng Jié (Qingming / Tomb-Sweeping Day): Early April. Families visit ancestral graves, clean them, and offer food, incense, and joss paper.
• 端午节 Duān Wǔ Jié (Dragon Boat Festival): 5th day of 5th lunar month (usually June). Commemorates poet Qu Yuan. Features zòngzi (sticky rice dumplings), dragon boat races, and hanging herb sachets.
• 中秋节 Zhōng Qiū Jié (Mid-Autumn Festival): 15th day of 8th lunar month (Sept/Oct). Moon worship, family reunions, eating mooncakes, lantern displays.
• 国庆节 Guó Qìng Jié (National Day): October 1. Founding of the PRC (1949). Golden Week holiday, parades, fireworks, patriotic events.

Other important observances: Lantern Festival (15th day of 1st month), Ghost Festival (15th day of 7th month), Double Ninth Festival (9th day of 9th month).