Major Festivals in China
All the festivals below are listed with dates referring to the Chinese lunar
calendar.
Spring Festival
Spring Festival starts at the beginning of the 12th month lasts
until the middle of the 1st lunar month of the following year. The most
important days are New Years Eve and the three following days.
Lunar New Year's Eve means the last day or night of the lunar year, and that
night is also called the Great New Year's Eve. One of the characters in (lunar
New Year's Eve) means "to eliminate," therefore that night is also taken to mean
"the elimination of a year.". When night falls, family members gather together
and eat a big New Year's Dinner, or the "Family Reunion Dinner," in which a
large variety of dishes are served. Many people then stay up all night watching
the New Year TV programs at home and waiting up "to see the Old Year out and the
New Year in."
When the bell tolls for the New Year, firecrackers are let off to welcome the
new spring. For security's sake, firecrackers are banned in the central city.
(Don't expect to get much sleep on this night).
On Chinese New Years Day people will dress well (often in new clothes) and
the whole family pays a visit to the elder generation. Peers send New Year
greetings to each other. The senior members of a family will give money in a red
envelope to the children as a New Year gift to congratulate them on their
growth. In the afternoon of the New Year's Day and the following two days,
people will visit their relatives and friends, and many people now send their
regards to each other through mobile phones and the Internet.
On the 4th day of the New Year, many people buy fresh carp to welcome the God
of Wealth, since the character 鲤 (carp) sounds similar to 利 (wealth), and a red
carp with its head and tail lifted up look just like a gold ingot. All streets
are busy during the first five days of the New Year, and people visit temples in
an endless stream.
Stores are closed in the first three days of the New Year, and some are even
closed till the fifth day, the only day for relaxation in a year for the staff.
The God of Wealth is received on the fifth day, and people have a big meal that
night.
The Lantern Festival
The 15th day of the New Year is the Lantern Festival. People eat wontons in
the day and rice dumplings in the evening. During the festival, large awnings
are set up in old districts of Shanghai, and all kinds of lanterns together make
a splendid view. Sailing boats with lanterns float in great numbers in the
Huangpu River. Lanterns are also put up in the fields to anticipate a golden
harvest. "Lantern Dragon Show" is a wonderful performance for the festival in
western suburbs and Jiading Nanxiang. The performance is accompanied by gongs
and drums, and sometimes there are dozens of lantern dragons pursuing a dragon
ball.
During the Lantern Festival, women were supposed to cross three bridges. It
is said that the family would get rid of all diseases if the women go across
three big bridges at a night with bright moonlight. This could be easily done
since there were quite a few bridges in old Shanghai, among which the Lu Stone
Bridge was the most popular.
Qing Ming
On the Tomb-Sweeping Day early in the 4th month, people will go for a walk in
the countryside and commemorate the dead by sweeping their tombs.
People often go to offer incense in temples on the 15th day of the 3rd month.
A big fair is also held in Longhua Town. Many people go to see peach blossoms
and the traffic becomes very busy-----as described by Li Xingnan in his 'A
Bamboo Poem' written during the Qing Dynasty: "A beautiful spring day on March
15th, and travelers gather in an ancient pass; The waves carry away the ringing
of bells, and the boats go past the eighteen coves of Longhua." The "Evening
Bell in Longhua" used to be one of the eight major scenic spots in Shanghai.
On the 23rd day of the 3rd month, people celebrate the birthday of the Queen
of Heaven. Merchants from Fujian province offer sacrifices to the Queen of
Heaven and pray for their safety and wealth. At that time, devotees would also
invite theatrical troupes to give performances.
Beginning of Summer
The day marking the beginning of summer is in the 4th month, and peasants
living in the countryside make cakes with sugar and wheat flour, which is said
to be able to prevent heatstroke. They also make fried pancakes with fresh grass
and rice, a very popular food in Shanghai and Pudong. "The Three Freshenings,"
namely sweet plums, rice wine, and salted duck's eggs, are also the food in
season.
The Buddha Washing Day
On 8th day of the 4th month, the birthday of Sakyamuni, people will sweep the
dust off the Buddha and chant prayers. Big temple fairs will be held in some
temples such as Jing An Temple and Guang Fu Temple, and all kinds of local
specialties are traded and exchanged.
Dragon Boat Festival
During the Dragon Boat Festival in the 5th month, people eat zongzi, a
pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
Calamus and garlics are hung on the doors to avoid evils. Realgar wine is served
at noon and Chinese herbs like rhizome, Dahurian angelica roots and rue are
burnt to fumigate the room. Realgar is powdered on children's forehead to avoid
heatstroke and other diseases. Zongzi, loquat, yellow croaker and garlic are
among the popular food in season. Watching dragon boat races is a popular
program favored by most people. In Shanghai, the biggest races are in Qingpu
District.
Birthday of Guanyin
The 19th day of the 6th month is the birthday of Guanyin (Avalokitesvara),
and the temples become crowded again with Buddhists.
Meeting of the Cowherd and Weavermaid
The 7th evening of the 7th month of the lunar calendar is the time for two
legendary figures, the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid, to meet again on a bridge
over the galaxy. All kinds of fruits are served in that evening.
Zhongyuan Festival
During Zhongyuan Festival on the 15th day of the 7th month, Buddhist rites
are performed in temples and lotus lanterns are placed in pools.
Birthday of the God of the Land
July 30th is said to be the birthday of the God of the Land, and people used
to light candles and incense in the yard, and calledthose candles "Land
Light."
Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival is the time to watch the moon. In old Shanghai many
people loved to see the reflection of the moon in the river, and "Shiliang Night
Moon" was counted as another one of the eight scenic sights in Shanghai. When
the autumn tide comes on the 18th, many people go to see it in Dongcheng or
Haining in Zhejiang province. In recent years, quite a few people have enjoyed
various shows in the Shanghai Osmanthus Festival.
Double Ninth Festival
On the 10th day of the 9th month, people make steamed Chongyang cakes with
sugar and glutinous rice, and pine cakes are specially made in Jiading and
Chuansha. People also drink Chongyang wine and climb up high mountains to
celebrate the festival.
Chrysanthemum Festival
During this festival in the middle of the 9th month, learned men gather
together to compose poems on a variety of beautiful chrysanthemums.
Winter Solstice Festival
On the day before winter solstice in the 11th month, people used to make
flower cakes and dumplings with threshed rice, and send them to relatives and
friends just like on New Year's Day.
Sakyamuni's Enlightenment Day
The 8th day of the 12th month is said to be the day when Sakyamuni attained
the highest state of spiritual enlightenment. People eat laba porridge made of
walnuts, date, bean and other vegetables. In temples, the porridge will be
enshrined in front of the Buddha before being distributed to the monks and
Buddhist devotees.
Seeing Off the Kitchen God
During the second half of the 12th month, people are busy sending New Year
gifts to each other. On the 24th day, wine, fruit, dumplings and fake gold
ingots are offered to the Kitchen God. The ingot candy is a gummy sweet
presumably used to seal the mouth of the Kitchen God, in case he would report
the human sins to the God of Heaven.
From then until Lunar New Year's Eve, households prepare themselves for the
New Year which often includes some cleaning and a lot of going out to buy
things. Animals are caught and killed in preparation for the New Years feasts
rice is prepared and families make all kinds of food in preparation. New Year
pictures are also put up inside and outside their houses. People in town often
buy some flowers and put them in vases so as to add to the atmosphere of the
festival
The above customs are still preserved in some villages near Shanghai, whereas
inside the city, many of them have disappeared with the development of modern
science and technology, while others have continued with a few changes.
Generally speaking, customs in Shanghai are in a process of constant change. In
areas south of the Yangtze River, folk customs such as dumplings for New Year's
Day, green cakes for Tomb-Sweeping Day, zongzi for Dragon Boat Festival,
mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival, steamed cakes for Double Ninth Festival, and
special dumplings for New Year's Eve, etc. have become characteristics of
Shanghai.
With the development of the city, citizens have suggested that firecrackers
be banned during the Spring Festival since they are very likely to cause fires,
damages and pollution. Hence, the municipal Public Security Bureau has
prohibited firecrackers within the Inner Ring Road.
In recent years, many parents have begun to send toys or books instead of
money to their children as Spring Festival gifts, and many people have also
changed the custom by sending courteous telegraphs with flowers rather than gift
boxes to their relatives and friends
