Festivals

The main festivals of the Chinese year, with dates worked out for the next five years.

春節Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)The start of the Chinese year, and the biggest festival of all.元宵節Lantern FestivalThe first full moon of the year, a night of lanterns.清明QingmingA day for tending family graves. It follows the sun, not the moon.端午Duanwu, the Loong Boat FestivalA day of Loong boat races and rice dumplings, said to honour the poet Qu Yuan.七夕QixiThe night the Herd Boy and Weaver Girl meet, when women prayed for skill.中元節Zhongyuan, the Ghost FestivalA day for ancestors and the restless dead.中秋節Mid-Autumn FestivalA night of moon viewing, mooncakes and family.重陽節Double NinthA day for climbing high and enjoying chrysanthemums.冬至Winter SolsticeThe shortest day of the year, when yang begins to return.臘八LabaA day for Laba porridge, the prelude to the new year.