The Most In-Depth Guide to Chinese Festivals

Bold days are major Chinese festivals and holidays.

Festivals honoring the Living

Lantern Festival

Lantern festival normally starts around the 15th day after the Chinese New Year. To me, this is one of the most charming holidays in Chinese culture. One aspect that will catch everyone attention is the lantern parade. If you are a tourist, this is the best holiday to participate. The reason is that there are almost no weird customs ties to it; the one thing you need to do is to have FUN.

This holiday will feature children showing off some of the most complex and delicate lanterns, lit with real candle inside while walking down the street. Sometime the adults are also the participants, but majorities of time those people are couples. You may say who would crazy enough to give real fire to children. My reply to you is the Chinese that who.

However, the children in China are always adored and beloved by their grandparents and parents; they never worry about a thing even if when something does happen. That's what I call love. But then: What is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, no more. I don't know... Hehehe.

I would not suggest that you try to make a lantern for yourself. First, it can be very dangerous. If you don't know where to place the candle correctly, it may burst into flame. Second, you will probably be laugh at by the natives because the lantern might not look like anything. My best advice is goes out and buys one. The lanterns are range from cheap to expensive. So, enjoy.

The Dragon Boat Festival

It is a very ancient festival which lost its origin due to the mist of time, but most people today just remember two origins. First, the festival is for honoring water dragons, which to some regions of China, people consider water dragons as the most powerful dragons. By honoring the dragons, farmers will have water (rain) for their crop next year.

Second, this festival originated because of its historical remark. Majority of the Chinese people associate this festival to a man named Qu Yuan. The story told of Qu Yuan, who was a loyal minister of Chu in the third century. Because of being disgusted by his king's actions, and had no ways to prevent pointless wars from happening, he jumped down into Milo River.

Once, local villages heard about this event, they immediately raced their boat out to the river to search for him but could not be able to find him. The locals, then, started throwing rice down the water for the fish to prevent it from disturbing Yuan's body.

By honoring his death, one of the signature highlights for this festival is a food named zongzi. Zongzi is sticky rice mix with flavors (salty, sweet, or meat) stuffed inside a bamboo leaves. Zongzi is representing the rice that local threw down the river during the ancient time.

It is alright to throw rice down to the river back then; however, it is not alright to do it now. In Asia, people are very respectful to the farmers. So, if you are wasting rice down the river, you may become a second Qu Yuan. Still, if you want to try, please, know how to swim.

Festival of the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden

A long time ago, when heaven and earth were close with each other, the fairies up in the sky would occasionally come down from heaven to play. Down here on earth, there was a cowherd. He was a poor man and his only possession was a cow. He lived a peaceful life but was very lonely.

Because the cow had sensed his loneliness, one day it spoke to him. The cow said that the daughters of Jade Emperor of Heaven, which also known as Weaving Maidens, like to bathe in the river close to the cliff. All the cowherd has to do was to steal one of the outfits when the maidens were taking a bath. Then, whichever maiden that lost her outfit will stay and become his wife.

The next day, he waited by the river, and what the cow had said was true, the maidens indeed were taking a bath in the river. He quickly stole an outfit that was belonged to the youngest out of seven sisters. After hearing a noise, the maidens started to flee, but the youngest was stuck behind. Because the cowherd has seemed her naked body, the maiden agreed to be his wife.

They lived happily for ten years together and have two kids together. Side note - according to the legend, one year on earth equal to one day in heaven, in this case, ten years equal to ten days in heaven. Ok, let continue.

One of the maiden's jobs was weaving the celestial cloth in heaven; however, after she left the color of the cloud stayed the same. Because of this reason, the Mother of the West was furious.

As punishment, she banished the maiden back to heaven. As the queen tried to prevent the cowherd from following, she took the maiden's hair pin and tore the sky, which created a Great River (also known as the Milky Way) in the sky to keep them separate.

From that point, the maiden sat on one side of the river weaving the cloth with tear in her eyes, and the cowherd raising their kids on the other side of the river. Over the time, this story reached to the Jade Emperor, because out of sympathy he let the family sees one another on July 7 of every year.

To help them reach each other, the emperor ordered the crow to be bridge between two sides of the river.

There is another version of the story. (Sadder version)

When the Queen banished maiden back to heaven, the two children missed their mom and they would not stop crying. The earth wizard empathy for their situation, he then gave them a magical drum. Every time the drum was hit, it will carry the family up into the sky.

As they almost reach heaven, the children started to get hungry, and they wanted to eat. When the cowherd feed his kids with rice, the crow started to attack and try to take the food. Accidentally, when the crow tried to get the rice, it broke the drum. From heaven, the cowherd and two kids fell down and died.

This story reached to the emperor, and out of sympathy he granted them to see each other one day out of every year. As for punishment for the crow, the emperor makes them become a bridge for the family every year.

As a result, if you look carefully in the month of July, the crow does not have any hair on its head. The explanation is that the family of the cowherd steps on its head when they cross over the bridge. Also, in the beginning of July, there always a slight rain, meaning the family is crying up in the sky.

According to Western astronomy, the star name after the cowherd is Altair, located in constellation Aquila and for the Weaving Maiden is the star Vega, which located in the constellation Lyra.

To celebrate this holiday, the Chinese couple exchange each other gift and be romantic at the "Sin City of Las Vegas." (I'm just kidding) I know this is a sad story, just want to break the ice.

The Mid-Autumn Festival/ Chinese Moon Festival

The Mid-Autumn festival can also know as the Moon festival. This holiday is similar to United States' Thanksgiving. The holiday occurs in the month of September around the 25th. Around this time of the year, the moon is round and brighter than any other time in the year. This festival also celebrates the moon goddess, Chang-O.

The tale starts when the earth had ten suns. People living in agony, and each day they beg for Heaven to help. The Jade Emperor heard their prayers, and sends his best archer down to earth. The archer name was Hou Yi. After accomplished of shooting down nine suns, the people on earth throne him as king of the people.

However, Hou Yi becomes a tyrant and people once again living in despair. Hou Yi has a beautiful wife named Change-Er. Because of trying to escape from her husband, she stole an elixir from him. After consuming the elixir, she began to fly and flew all the way to the moon. Hou Yi loves his wife so much that he cannot pulls the trigger and shoots the moon down.

People also celebrate this festival for another reason, the festival of agricultural, which has a meaning of celebrating a good year of harvest. This is the holiday that family can sit down together, sings a song (karaoke "Baby, don't hurt me..."), and eat "moon cake."

Moon cake is a round cake stuffed with variety stuffing such as fruit, nut, meat (ham), pumpkin, duck egg, and it is quite expensive. Eating the moon cake is depending on your own taste because some people do like it (Ex: Chinese people) and some do not (Ex: Western people).

In recent years, moon cake starts to fall out of favor in China; however, people still expect it to be a gift.

There is a significant historical story surround this festival as well. During the Yuan dynasty, Chinese rebels want to overthrow the Mongol; they stuff the rebellious message in the moon cake and pass it around as a way to communicate. Short time after that, the Mongol was overthrow and Ming dynasty was born.

Festivals honor the Death

Clear Brightness Festival - Qing Ming

This festival occurs in the month of April the 4th through the 6th. This is not a festival per se. This is the time when family comes out to their ancestor tombs to show some respect such as cutting the wild grass, sweeping the dirt around the tomb, and burning paper money.

From time to time, family may have a picnic around the tomb as well. In my opinion, the meaning of this gesture is to show that the death ancestors had never been forgotten in the family.

Traditionally, family with burn paper money (paper have imprint of money) and paper replica of some material good such car, maid, home, phone, and etc. In Chinese culture, even though a person died, he/she may still need all of these in the afterlife.

There should always an even number of dishes put in front of the grave and a bowl of rice with incense stick upright. Then, family members start taking turn to bow before the tomb of the ancestors.

Bowing will go in order, which starts with the most senior member of the family and so on.

Ghost Festival

This holiday occurs in the 15th or 17th of August. Again, I'm not really sure. This festival is another form of the American Halloween, but it has completely different meaning and practice.

This day is dedicated to honor all the homeless souls, meaning all the souls that are not properly buried or somehow have been forgotten by their family. In return, the souls will not cause any mischief or harm.

When you are a tourist around this time, you will see some monks and priests performing ceremonies for the lost souls. The natives will burn some paper money in a barrel along the street.

The meaning for this tradition is for souls to have enough money to give to the underworld official so they can reincarnate as human. Or, this act also considers to be bribing the souls themselves so they will not bother the living or businesses. Sorry, there will no candy for Trick or Treat.

Other

Birthday

When the child is born, the baby automatically is 1 year old, which unlike the West birth calendar. Another different is New Year considering being everyone's birthday. Little bit, confusing? Let me give you an example.

Let say, I'm born in the month of December on the 11th, meaning I'm already 1 year old on December 11. However, when New Year comes, which is in February of next year coming around I will be 2. However, if I'm living in the West, the administration will only consider me as 3 months old.

With that being said, if you look back on the Olympic in China, in theory, the gymnastic women are not under age. It is just that the age counting system is different. To other countries in the world, they may consider being younger, but in China, they are right at their age to be qualify.

To me, this is just another example of culture misunderstanding. Hehehe. Please, don't sue me.

The tradition food for birthday is a hardboiled egg with shell dyed red. There are a couple of customs for the mom and the baby after birth. First, the mom with not wash her hair for a month because it will weaken her if she does so.

Second, the baby will be wrapped in white cloth and especially around the two legs. The Chinese people believe that if they do that the baby's legs will be straight when it gets older. However, this can also backfire as well; for example, if the cloth wraps incorrectly then the legs of baby could be bent.

If the family does not wrap the legs with cloth then the baby's mother will help by press gently on the leg each day. And this technique can also be backfired, as you can figure.

Thank you for reading, hopefully, you enjoy it. From where I am, good luck and good night, everybody.

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