Holidays

According to the lunar calendar, China's main holidays are:

Spring Festival (Chunjie)

Spring Festival (Chunjie): Spring Festival also known as Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year, falls on the first day of the first moon according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. Chinese New Year or lunar New Year is the longest and most important festival in China. Customs include paying off debts, purchasing new clothes, thoroughly cleaning the house, enjoying sumptuous family feasts,

offering sacrifices to the gods, and giving friends and relatives "red envelopes" containing "lucky money." Firecrackers explode throughout the night on New year's Eve and sporadically on the following days.

To learn more about this holiday, please visit:

http://www.lymaxtour.com/holidays.htm

http://www.sandiego-online.com/forums/chinese/htmls/holidays.htm

Clear Brightness Festival (Qingming jie)

April 5, except leap year. On leap years, April 4. The Clear Brightness Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a day to remember and worship ancestors by visiting and sweeping their graves, leaving flowers, and burning ghost money.

The Dragon Boat Festival

This holiday falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, the traditional day set to commemorate Qu Yuan, a great poet and patriot of the ancient Chinese State of Chu.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.sandiego-online.com/forums/chinese/htmls/dragboat.htm

Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu jie)

Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu jie) is often referred to as Moon Festival, is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon. People often eat Moon Cakes during this time.

For Mid-Autumn, please visit:
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/folklore/peter/student_pres/Tu/index.html
To read touching stories of Chong O, please go to:
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/folklore/peter/student_pres/Tu/page3.html

According to the "solar calendar", the main holidays are:

The New Year Day (January 1)

The International Working Women's Day (March 8)

The International Labor Day or May Day (May 1)

The Chinese Youth Day (May 4)

The International Children's Day (June 1)

The Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China (July 1)

The Army Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army) (August 1)

The National Day (October 1)

Additional websites:

http://www.indiana.edu/~chasso/holiday.html

http://www.holidayfestival.com/China.html