We have learned that people all over the world celebrate holidays with traditions, ceremonies, festivals, and special events.  Sometimes these holidays are similar to those we celebrate in the United States.  Other celebrations are very different from ours.  It would be fun to travel around the world and participate in these special days in faraway lands.  Let's visit the country of China and join in some of their holiday celebrations.

New Year (Spring Festival) 

One of China's favorite holidays is the New Year Celebration, or Spring Festival.  When we think of New Years Day in the United States, we know it is on the first day of January.  It is different for the Chinese people.  The Chinese use a different calendar.  Their calendar tells what time of the year it is by the position of the moon and sun in the sky.  The Chinese New Year always takes place in January or February.

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, celebrates the start of a new season for farming and planting crops.  Most people will stay up until midnight, just as we do in the United States.  At midnight, firecrackers and fireworks are lit.  During this tradition, the fireworks are believed to scare away the evil spirits.  The next day is spent visiting friends, family, and neighbors, much like we do in the United States.

The Chinese celebrate their New Year during three days of festivities.  Special foods are prepared, and the holiday is celebrated with big parades.  Parades are another tradition that the Chinese share with us.

Click on the mask below listen to
 Chinese New Year celebration music.

Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival always occurs on the 15th day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar.  The celebration of this festival dates back over 2000 years, and honors spirits of the sky.  Lanterns of all shapes and sizes are hung and placed around homes and in the streets.  The Lantern Festival is celebrated at night with children carrying lanterns in a parade. There is also traditional dancing and singing.

Special foods are prepared for this holiday as well, such as sweet dumplings with a delicious stuffing.  The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year season.

Qing Ming (Festival of Pure Brightness)

Qing Ming is a holiday for honoring ancestors in Chinese families.  Qing Ming is similar to our Memorial Day in the United States.  This holiday takes place in April, when people can enjoy the fresh springtime air, and the blossoming of flowers.

One of the most important traditions of Qing Ming is to clean the grave sites of the family's relatives, pulling weeds, and sweeping away dead leaves.  This cleaning is followed by a picnic at the cemetery to pay respect to the dead.  Food and prayers are offered to the ancestors.  Qing Ming is a time for the Chinese to remember the heritage of their families.

Dragon Boat Festival     

The Dragon Boat Festival is a very important traditional holiday to the Chinese people.  The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar.  Remember, the Chinese New Year starts sometime during our month of January or February, here in the United States. That means that the Dragon Boat Festival would occur sometime in May or June.

This summertime celebration is a fun time for everyone.  Long, colorful boats made to look like dragons race through the water, with many people watching from the shore.  The Dragon Boat Festival is an important part of Chinese culture.  It is a Chinese Tradition to honor the dragon, who was once believed to have control over the water, and rainfall.

Special foods are eaten during the festival.  Dumplings made of rice and meat and wrapped in bamboo leaves are enjoyed by those who attend the festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Chinese have a holiday for giving thanks they call the Mid-Autumn Festival.  The Mid-Autumn Festival occurs in the fall, during harvest season.  It is similar to our holiday of Thanksgiving, which we celebrate here, in the United States. 

Chinese moon cakes

The Chinese also prepare special foods for the Mid-Autumn Festival.  Round, sweet pastries called "moon cakes" are eaten to celebrate the full moon.  The fullest, and brightest moon occurs during this time of the year.  In China, people celebrate by having a great  feast in the moonlight, to give thanks for the harvest.

National Day

National Day celebrates the day when the People's Republic of China was created.  The Chinese celebrate National Day on October 1st.  This holiday is very similar to our Independence Day, that we celebrate here on July 4th, to honor in the United States.  The Chinese celebrate National Day with fireworks, parades, ceremonies, and special sporting events, just like we do.

The People's Republic of China was formed in 1949, by Mao Zedong.  The People's Republic of China has been the official name of the country of China, since 1949, although the Chinese people have been around for many thousands of years!

We would certainly have fun visiting China and celebrating their holidays along with our Chinese friends.

photographs and clipart used with permission from
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/clipart/blscliparts.htm, http://www.pics4learning.com, http://www.freefoto.com and http://www.millan.net/anims/holidays.html

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