Most Chinese traditional holidays, based on ancient Chinese mythology, have a long history and rich cultural content. There are holidays dedicated to religious relics, various superstitions. But there are also holidays that have quite real origins, they reflect agricultural or political activity, or are dedicated to some social phenomena.
The way Chinese holidays are celebrated, often associated with childhood, with good magic, this contributes to the distinctive culture of the people.
The most important holidays of China
Chinese people are very honored and protected by their cultural heritage, holidays are considered to be the most important part of it. The main Chinese state holiday is the PRC Education Day , celebrated on October 1.
The official celebration is also the Labor Day , which falls on the first week of May, this holiday falls to seven days off (from 1 to 7 May), and it is an excellent occasion for rest and meetings with friends, trips abroad. During the holidays, parks and city squares all over the country are given for entertainment and sports competitions, these days there is also an honorable rewarding of honored people.
Particularly bright is one of the main Chinese holidays - the Chinese New Year , which is celebrated on February 8. There is an obligatory presence of an abundance of delicacies on the table, and the main dish is Chinese dumplings , which, according to popular belief, will bring wealth to the house. On the second day of the holiday, there is certainly noodles on the table. The Chinese believe that, being long and smooth, it will make their life the same. This holiday is also called the Holiday of Spring and it is taken away for a week-long weekend, it is celebrated noisily and cheerfully with a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, by which they, according to legend, frightened off wild animals that prevented the arrival of spring.
One of the most beloved Chinese national holidays is the Lantern Festival , it is celebrated on February 22 and ends with New Year celebrations. Lighting millions of lanterns, the Chinese, thus, escorted the souls of the dead ancestors who descended to earth for the celebration of the New Year in a different world.
Also on national holidays is Day of Remembrance , it is celebrated on April 5. On this day, the Chinese traditionally worship ancestors, are engaged in the harvesting of graves, they carry gifts, flowers and counterfeit bills. Traditionally, this holiday is not kindled with fire and does not heat food.
The festival of dragon boats is traditionally celebrated on June 9, it lasts three days, in which competitions are organized with the participation of dragon boats, and food these days is rice, which is wrapped in leaves of reeds.
A very revered feast, which in importance follows after the New Year festival - Mid-Autumn Festival . It is devoted to the end of harvesting and it is also called the Harvest Festival, it usually falls on September 15 (the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar). Another name for it is the Feast of the Moon Goddess, the Chinese consider the full moon a symbol of prosperity and prosperity, at this time the whole family gathers for a joint dinner, the obligatory dish is the moon cakes, they use wheat flour and various fillings.
Chinese holidays are distinguished by their uniqueness, they are original and unique, conditioned by the world outlook and the way of life of the people. All Chinese festivals have their own characteristics, their unique appearance, the traditions of their conduct are not similar to each other.