☾ Festivals In China

There are many festivals celebrated in China, as festivals are a very important part of China's culture. I will be researching on some different festivals celebrated in China.

• Chinese New Year, or 春节, is the most widely known festival celebrated by most people in China. According to Wikipedia, CNY is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. It is considered a major holiday for the Chinese. Within China, regional and customs concerning the celebration of CNY vary greatly. However, most often, during CNY, it is a custom for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Many Chinese families also engage in spring cleaning, which they believe will sweep away the bad luck from the previous year, as it will be a new year, a fresh start for them. Windows and doors will be decorated with red-coloured paper-cuts and couplets, as red is a colour representing prosperity and good fortune to the Chinese. Other customs include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red-packets. 

• The Lantern Festival has been of great significance since the Western Han Dynasty. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns, also known as 猜灯谜. These lanterns symbolise people letting go of their past selves and having a fresh start. The lanterns are mostly red to symbolise good fortune as well. In Hong Kong, the Lantern Festival is commercialised as the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes known as the Lantern Festival in Singapore and Malaysia. 

• The Qingming Festival is also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. Its name in Chinese suggests a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime, also known as 踏青 in Chinese. However, it is mostly noted for the connection with the tending of family graves. However, I'm not sure why this occasion is a celebrated festival. 

• The Duanwu Festival is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Ways of celebrating this festival is to eat 粽子, which are sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves, and drinking realgar wine, also known as 雄黃酒, as well as racing dragon boats. 

• The Qixi Festival, known as 七夕, is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and the weaver girl in Chinese mythology. It is also widely known as the Chinese Valentine's Day. The festival originated from 织女 and 牛郎, who were the weaver girl and cowherd, respectively. 

• The Ghost Festival, also 中元节, is a traditional Chinese festival in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the "lower realm". On that day, Taoists and Buddhists will perform rituals to to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Activities during the Ghost Festival include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper. Elaborate meals, frequently vegetarian, would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family, treated as if they were still living, and to show respect to their deceased family members. Other ways of celebrating this festival include releasing miniature boats and paper lanterns on water, signifying giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors or deities. 

• The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as 中秋节. It celebrates gathering of the family, giving thanks and praying for various things, such as for babies, longevity, or for a good future. Brightly lit lanterns are carried around and moon cakes are made and shared. The senior person in that household would cut the moon cake into pieces and distribute them to the family members, signifying family reunion. 

• Another celebrated festival is the Laba Festival, also known as 腊八节. It is customary on that day to eat Laba congee and Laba garlic. This festival is used to commemorate the Gautama Buddha's enlightenment at age 35. 

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