7 Traditional Chinese Festivals

Chinese Holidays and festivals

Holidays and festivals are two words that are associated with happiness, reunions, and memories. In western countries, some holidays and festivals are religious, while in China most festivals are occasions for family reunions. Dating far back into ancient times, the origin of some traditional Chinese festivals reflects ancient people’s psychological and practical needs. Therefore, complex rituals were observed at that time to pray for blessings and protection against disasters. Sacrifices were offered to Heaven and ancestors, which now are considered as superstition by modern Chinese people.

Now China encourages a simplified ceremonial life. The young in particular have little interest in traditional rituals. They would rather have fun and a good rest on holidays. In the city, with the improvement of the living standard, many people choose to travel during holidays and festivals. Still, some rituals and customs are kept and practiced primarily in the country, and they are a fundamental part of Chinese culture.

Five traditional festivals are still considered to be of the most important to Chinese people. They are the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival, the Tomb Sweeping Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Apart from the Lantern Festival, the other four festivals have been set down as official public holidays. In recent years, it has become a practice approved by the government to rearrange the work schedule so that the public can enjoy a three-day, five-day, or even seven-day holiday. This practice not only enables the public to have fun and relaxation as they wish, but it also boosts the economy as people eat, buy, and travel to celebrate.

To people in western countries, the dates of traditional Chinese festivals may be somewhat confusing because most of these festivals are observed according to the Chinese lunar calendar. For example, among the five festivals mentioned above, only the Tomb Sweeping Festival is based on the Gregorian calendar while the other four on the Chinese lunar calendar. The reason for this lies in the fact that most traditional Chinese festivals have a long history of about two thousand to three thousand years.

For a country with more than fifty ethnic groups, it is a challenging and next-to-impossible mission to come up with a complete list of traditional Chinese festivals. This chapter only focuses on five festivals, which are acknowledged the most. If this brief introduction can shed any light on the understanding of Chinese culture for foreign friends, the author will feel that she has accomplished her mission.

The Spring Festival (The Chinese New Year) 春节, 过年

The Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China and is celebrated throughout the entire nation. Most of the traditional festivals in China are based on the Chinese lunar calendar as is the Spring Festival. After the

Revolution of 1911, China officially adopted the Gregorian calendar. Hence, the Spring Festival was set on the first day of the first month according to the lunar calendar, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Spring Festival is said to originate from a memorial ceremony in primitive society. In the Xia Dynasty, shortly after the Winter Solstice and before the next spring arrived, people would offer sacrifices to Heaven by slaughtering pigs and sheep. The purpose was none other than praying for good harvests and protection of men and livestock against diseases and disasters.

Like Christmas in western countries, the festive atmosphere starts days before the holiday. Shopping malls and stores are usually crowded with people selecting and buying clothes, food, and gifts. The exuberance reaches its peak on the Eve of Spring Festival. During the day, people have already put up various decorations, the typical ones being New Year couplets,  the big Chinese character “福” (Fu) meaning happiness, New Year pictures, and many other colorful paper cuts. Whatever form the decoration is, people’s good wishes for a new start are expressed.

On the Eve, the entire family gathers together for a sumptuous meal. A family reunion is a reason for Eve and people would try all means to get home before the dinner starts. That is why transportation during this period is a headache for both the government and the public. The Eve dinner is as rich as you can imagine with kinds of delicious dishes. In the North of China, the most famous course is Jiaozi or dumplings. The name is said to have different associations with the most convincing one suggesting “ringing out the old year, ringing in the new year.” In the South, people do not have the habit of eating Jiaozi. Instead, they have glutinous rice cakes since “cake” in the Chinese language has the same sound as “higher.” Thus they express people’s good wishes for the coming new year. An indispensable dish in both the South and the North is fish because “fish” in the Chinese language sounds the same as “abundance.”

The family members have Eve dinner together in a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere. In some families, people talk and laugh late into the night while other families still cherish the custom of watching the New Year Celebration Performance held on CCTV (China Central Television).

Around midnight, people go outside to set off fireworks. There is a legend concerning the custom of setting off fireworks and firecrackers. The legend tells of a fierce and frightening monster called Nian (年) during ancient times, which had a huge mouth and was like an ox in shape and size. On the last day of a year when people wanted to have a good time after the whole year’s hard work, the monster would come out to eat people. People gradually learned that Nian was afraid of the sight of fire and the cracking sound. So on that day, people would sit around a fire and throw pieces of bamboo into the fire, which gave out the desired sound to drive the monster away. This custom has been kept and is still practiced nowadays. But many environment-minded people have chosen to give up this practice without spoiling the festival spirit.

Apart from Eve, the first day is another critical day for visiting and greeting neighbors, friends, and relatives. It’s an especially happy time for children because they can get money wrapped in red envelopes from the elders, which is called Yasuiqian (压岁钱) in Chinese. Nowadays, with the development of telecommunications, face-to-face greetings have in part been replaced by telephone calls and messages through mobile phones.

Since the Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year is the most critical holiday in China, almost, all the factories and companies nationwide allow at least a week’s off. In a broad sense, the celebration lasts until the Lantern Festival. This festival brings back many happy memories for me. As a child, what the festival meant to me were new clothes, delicious food, firecrackers, and Yasuiqian. I can still remember one special Spring Festival. That winter was very cold. My father bought me a new coat from the city days before the festival. I wished I could put on the new coat as soon as possible so that I counted time second by second. When Eve finally came, with my parents’ permission. I put on the new coat and went out to play with friends - actually, to show off. In their eyes of admiration and envy, I played and laughed happily. Then, I suddenly stumbled over a small rock. When I staggered to my feet, I found a hole in one sleeve of the coat. I cried back home, more feeling sorry for my beautiful new coat than worrying about parents’ scold. Fortunately, my mother was good at sewing and the hole was transformed into a butterfly with colorful cloth. Now, I have my own daughter. It is a good thing that her generation can have new clothes and delicious food whenever they want. But it is also a pity that they cannot have the feeling I had as a child.

The Lantern Festival 元宵节, 灯节

The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It is customarily regarded as the end of the whole Spring Festival season, after which people resume their regular work and life.

“Merrily people celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15^th day of the 1^st lunar month” goes an old saying, which highlights its joyful atmosphere, making a difference with other festivals. The ways of celebration include displaying, watching and appreciating colorful lanterns; playing dragon and lion dances; Yangko dance; walking on stilts and running land boat dance.

As the first festival after the Spring Festival and the first appearance of the full moon in the New Year, the Lantern Festival was thought auspicious in ancient times. The Lantern Festival is also called Yuanxiao Festival because the first lunar month was also called “Yuan month” and the night was called “Xiao”. On that night, people admire the first full moon in a new year. 

The origin of the Lantern Festival

As to the origin of the festival, people have the home up with different versions, some being legendary while others being religious.

A popular legend goes that the Jade Emperor in Heaven was angry at a town for killing his favorite goose. So, he decided to bum the town to ruins. A kind-hearted fairy in heaven heard of this and showed her sympathy to the people there. She warned them of the coming disaster and instructed them to light lanterns throughout the town at an appointed time. The townsfolk did as told. It looked from Heaven as if the town were blazing. The Jade Emperor was satisfied, believing that his goose was avenged. From then on, people would celebrate on that day each year by carrying lanterns of various shapes and colors and walking along the streets.

A more realistic version maintains that this festival dated back to the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.—220 A.D.). After the death of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, his wife Queen Lv seized the throne. After her death, Zhou Bo, a general and Chen Ping, a prime minister helped subdue the insurrection of Lv’s s relatives and supported Liu Heng, Liu Bang's son, to the throne, who was titled Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty in the history. Since the date of subduing the insurrection was the 15^th day of the 1^st lunar month, emperor Wen went out of his palace on this night every year to celebrate it with common people. Therefore, the Yuan Xiao Festival was established by the emperor.

It is also said that Daoism had a great influence on the festival as well. According to Daoism, there are “Three Gods of Yuan” respectively the Upper Yuan of the sky, Middle Yuan of the earth and the Lower Yuan of the water, whose birthdays are the 15th day of the 1st lunar month (Upper Yuan Festival), of the seventh month (Middle Yuan Festival) and of the tenth month (Lower Yuan Festival). So the Lantern Festival is also called Upper Yuan Festival.

About the Lanterns

The name “Lantern Festival” or “the night of lanterns” originated from the custom of decorating and appreciating the lanterns. In the East Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China, in the belief of which firelight was compared to the god of power, and lanterns were used as a kind of sacrificial vessels before Buddha. The Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty issued an edict of lighting up the lanterns as a worship service on the night of the 15th day of the 1st lunar month and went to attend the service in person, and the practice was handed down for generations.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. What is different is the design of lanterns, which has become more and more complicated with the development of technology. In some regions, people have the custom of hanging riddles on lanterns. Through guessing riddles, people have a lot of fun and spend the holiday in laughter. 

Lantern Festival in Ancient Times

Since its debut, the Lantern Festival had become a grand event of the year in all historical times. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589 A.D.), the Emperor Jian Wen of Kingdom Liang wrote a famous essay Poem of the Lanterns inspired by the spectacular celebration. In the Tang Dynasty, the festival became a fixed holiday and lasted three days, and the curfew of the capital city Changan was lifted during the three nights to give people a chance to enjoy lanterns.

On the festival nights, the capital city was a scene of the hustle and bustle while people were swarming in the streets with an air of excitement. In his poem, The night of the Upper Yuan Festival, Cui Ye wrote: “Who could sit still when the moonlight shone and left the lanterns behind?” And Su Weidao wrote in his poem, The night of 15th day of the 1st Lunar Month, “The tree of flame accompanies the flower of silver, and the iron chains link the bridge of stars.” The term “the tree of flame and the flower of silver” became a popular simile for describing the fantastic view of the lanterns and the fireworks.

In the Tang Dynasty, when the country was quite rich and powerful, the fair of lanterns was also an occasion for the royalties to show off their wealth. According to the chronicle of the Kai Yuan and Tian Bao periods (713-756 A.D.), Li Longji, Emperor Tang Ming Huang of the Tang Dynasty, demanded to build a lantern mansion with a height of 150 chi shining its light above the whole capital city. The Lady Han ordered to build a lantern tree with a height of 80 chi to overshadow the mansion. “The tree stood on a high hill, and when lighted upon the festival night, its splendor could be seen from far away.”

In the Song Dynasty, the festival became even more popular, since Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor issued an edict of expanding the lantern festival from three days to five days.

Playing dragon and lion dances is also a traditional celebration of the Lantern Festival. Dragon dance was firstly used for praying for the rain, and soon became a custom of the festival. The winding and stretching dragons with shining lights in it make a spectacular scene of the festival. The lion dance is a special activity with strong ethnic flavor too, which is usually performed by three dancers—two dressed in one lion costume together and one dressed as a warrior holding a colorful ball to attract the lion. The dance is always accompanied by drums and gongs, making it more lively and merrily.

The Food on the Lantern Festival—Yuanxiao

Another custom associated with the Lantern Festival is to eat round dumplings made of glutinous rice flour, called Yuanxiao. It is also called Tangyuan, Tangtuan, Yuanzi, or Tuanzi in different regions. Yuanxiao is an indispensable dish for every household on the night of the 15^th day of the 1^st lunar month. There are usually fillings inside. The fillings can either be sweet or salty, and the sweet ones contain sugar, walnut, sesame, bean paste, mashed date, haw or crystal sugar, while the salty ones contain meat and vegetables. The custom of eating Yuanxiao emerged in the Song Dynasty. The shape of the rice ball and the moon symbolize family reunion.

Zhou Bida, a writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem Floating Yuanxiao, “Which night is it tonight? Reunion is the only thing.” In Taiwan region circulates a folklore “Family united after Tangyuan tasted.” From ancient times to now, so many wishes have been made upon the Lantern Festival.

The Tomb Sweeping Festival 清明节

Among the five critical festivals in China, the Tomb Sweeping Festival is the only one observed according to the Gregorian calendar, which usually falls on the 5th day and occasionally on the 4th day of April each year. It is also called Qingming, one of the twenty-four solar terms which were used to clock time and guide agricultural activities in ancient times. Qingming in Chinese means “Clear Brightness”, hinting at its association with the coming of spring. It is held to celebrate the rebirth of nature and mark the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities.

As its name suggests, the day is set for people to sweep tombs and offer sacrifice to ancestors. The custom originated from another holiday called Cold Food Day, which is on the 4th of April. Gradually the two days became one festival, and now the 5th of April is set down as an official public holiday. There is a touching story related to Cold Food Day.

In the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B. C. -476 B. C.), a man named Jiezitui followed his lord Chong’er, the prince of Jin. He took good care of Chong’er during the 19 years of exile. Jiezitui was so loyal that once he even cut a piece of flesh off his thigh to save his lord from starvation. However, when the prince finally ascended the throne and became King of the Jin State, he forgot Jiezitui. Without any complaints, Jiezitui and his mother withdrew from society and lived a poor life in the mountains. When the King remembered him and wanted to grant him a position, he failed to find Jiezitui in the forests. He knew Jiezitui was a filial son and would do anything to protect his mother. So he ordered his men to set the mountains on fire so as to force the mother and son out. The fire lasted more than three days, but Jiezitui and his mother refused to come out. They were found dead together under a burned willow tree. In order to commemorate Jiezitui, the day of his death was named Cold Food Day and the King decreed that no one was supposed to use fire. People had to eat cold food or pre-cooked food on that day.

This cold-food custom is no longer observed strictly. But people still keep the tradition of sweeping tombs and worshipping ancestors. Family members usually get together and make a trip to their departed family members’ tombs. Arriving there, they will lay out the prepared food in front of the graves. Incense and paper money will be burnt and firecrackers will be set off, especially in the countryside. Nowadays, “ancestors” have been understood in a more broad sense, including all those who have made significant contributions to the nation and society. Therefore,  people and especially students are organized to go to the public graveyards to show respect to these great people and learn from their honorable deeds.

Apart from sweeping tombs, the day is also a time for outdoor activities, such as having a picnic in the park, playing on the swings, flying kites, planting willows, holding tug-of-war competitions, and other fun activities. In the city, it’s not possible for all the people to go back to their hometown to sweep tombs, so it has become more popular for people to participate in some outdoor activities and have more contact with the freshness of nature.

The Double Ninth Festival 重阳节, 老人节

The festival is called so because it falls on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. According to "八卦" (Bagua, the Eight Trigrams, i. e. eight combinations of three lines, all solid, all broken, and a combination of solid and broken lines) in The Book of Change (one of the Five Classics), “九” (jiu) is a number for Yang (阳, yang, the Chinese way of thinking). Since there are two “nine” on that day, the double ninth day is called “重阳” (Chongyang). "重"  means "to repeat."

There are many characteristic celebrations for this festival. The more recognized ones are climbing hills, enjoying the blossom of chrysanthemum, drinking chrysanthemum tea or wine, eating "重阳糕" (Chongyang pastry), hanging "茱萸" (zhuyu, the fruit of medicinal cornel, Chinese herb), etc.

The history of the festival comes from a story, telling that one day a man named “桓景” (huanjing) in Henan Province today came across an old celestial being, who told him that a disaster might come to his family on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. But there were ways to escape the disaster. The celestial being advised that the family soon carry with them a color bag with “茱萸,” climb to a hill and drink some chrysanthemum wine. “桓景” and the family followed the advice and returned home at night to surprisingly find that all his domestic animals were dead, but the family members were safe and sound. Later it became a custom that, on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, people will all go climbing, drinking chrysanthemum wine and hanging “茱萸” at the door. The story may contain some myth, but it tells the long-time wishful desire of the ancients to escape disasters. But in fact, mountain-climbing is a beneficial sports activity for health, as in autumn, esp. on the day of the Double Ninth when the sky is clear, and the air is bracing. According to historical records, there was near the suburbs of “长安” (Chang’an), the capital of the West Han Dynasty, an elevated stand. On the 9th day of September of the lunar calendar every year, people would climb to that stand to enjoy the autumn view. “登髙” (denggao, ascending a height) is at first an entertainment, but soon it becomes popular, and the wording comes into being in Chinese since then.

The custom can be traced as far back as in the Han Dynasty. History tells that the empress of that time hangs “茱萸” on herself, drinks chrysanthemum wine and eats special cakes on that day. It is believed that “茱萸,” for its unique scent, can drive the mosquitoes and insects away and when mixed with other herbs, it can cure many diseases. Chrysanthemum wine can function as lowering down blood pressure, curing dizziness, and brightening eyes, etc.

For auspiciousness, people make and eat “糕" (pastry), as "糕" pronounces the same as "高" which explains why people have pastry on that day.

Many great poets in history such as “李白” (Libai), “王维” (Wangwei) and “孟浩然” (Meng Haoran), etc. have written famous poems describing the feelings and activities people have on that day. In recent years, for the sake of health, “重阳节” has become a holiday for the elderly, as the middle-aged and elderly like climbing hills, enjoying chrysanthemum blossom, drinking chrysanthemum wine.

Laba Festival 腊八节

The last lunar month is called "腊月" (Layue) in Chinese. Laba Festival (腊八节, Laba jie) falls on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month. It is a religious holiday but becomes popular now among people. People always eat palatable Laba Porridge on the day.

The Origin of Laba Porridge

It is said the custom of eating Laba Porridge originated from India. In the northern part of Ancient India, lay a small country and one of the King's sons was Gautama Siddartha, Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. His father took pride in the son and decided to pass the throne to him in the hope that he could unify the whole country and glorify the family. 

However, young Sakyamuni felt deeply for the suffering and pains in the world and was discontented with the Hindu caste system, which strictly divided people into different classes. When he was twenty-nine years old, he resolutely rejected the succession of the throne and luxurious life, and secretly rode out of the town on the eighth of December. Having taken off the prince's suit and cut off the hair, he decided to enter religion in search of the cure for the worldly suffering. 

After six years’ wandering, he endured much hardship but still could not find the solution. One day he went near a river and wanted to have a bath to soothe the weariness of the whole body. Suddenly he fell to the ground in a faint because of hunger and exhaustion. A shepherdess found him and fed him porridge boiled with her lunch, wild fruit, milk, and stream water. Having eaten the porridge, Sakyamuni felt refreshed. He went to a banyan tree, sat down facing eastward on the grass with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and lost in the meditation, swearing to find the solution to people’s agony.

On the night of the eighth day of December when he was thirty-five, a bright star rose from the east, he experienced the epiphany and saw the solution. He finally became Buddha and created an influential Buddhism. 

Later, monks and priests in temples on that day would make “佛粥” (fozhou, porridge for Buddha), a porridge that has fragrant rice and other food grains, to cherish the memory for him. "佛粥" in temples is also called “五味粥” (wuwei zhou, porridge with five tastes), as it is cooked with five food ingredients as “核桃” (hetao, walnut), “松子” (songzi, pine nut), “乳草” (rucao, milky grass), “柿” (shi, persimmon) and “栗” (li, chestnut). The custom to have porridge has soon become popular among people, but they call the special porridge “腊八粥,” as it is named after that particular date.

Laba Porridge in China

The custom of eating Laba Porridge was introduced to China together with Buddhism and has prevailed for at least one thousand and two hundred years. In the Tang Dynasty (618—907 A.D.), a man named Li Fu wrote a poem titled Laba Porridge: “Laba Porridge, introduced from Hindu, contains seven delicious ingredients and five flavors. Offered as a vegetarian dish, it spreads the teachings of Buddhism.” It clearly explains the origin and the features of Laba porridge.

In the Song Dynasty, people made the porridge from walnuts, pine nuts, mushrooms, persimmons, chestnuts, etc. Fucha Dunchong wrote in the book Record of the Yanjing (Beijing) Age that in the Qing Dynasty “Yellow rice, white rice, glutinous rice, millet, water caltrop kernel, chestnut, red cowpea, and peeled date are boiled with water to make Laba Porridge. Also, reddened peach kernels almonds, melon seeds, peanuts, hazelnut, pine nuts, white and red sugar, and dried grapes are used to decorate it.” Laba Porridge such as this was really a delicacy for the riches rather than the plain porridge for the Buddhists.

In the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912 A.D.), the porridge was more delicately cooked as it had more food ingredients on it. The porridge was added with kinds of beans, Chinese dates, brown sugar, and grapes, etc. which was more colorful and good-looking, a symbol of a good harvest.

Today, Laba Porridge had developed into a local delicacy. There are many methods to cook porridge. In Southern China, people put lotus seed, lotus root, etc. in the porridge; in Northwestern China, people put mutton in and, in some areas, people cook noodles with bittern juice from eight vegetables called “腊八面.” In Beijing, people prepare the porridge and have it frozen and eat it day by day. In Harbin, Laba garlic is also popular. Today in many temples, porridge is offered free for people. Whether it is noodles or porridge they cook, it is the wish of the people for health and a better life in the coming year.