National Celebrations and Holidays in China

•Chapter 4

•National Celebrations and Holidays in China 

1. Introduction

•Like all the other nations, China now celebrates the same festivals of New Year's Day, Labor Day (May 1st), Children's Day, and Women's Day.
•Also, more and more people have begun to celebrate Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Christmas Day as the Westerners do.
•However, as a multinational country, China also has its own traditional festivals, which are closely related to the customs, religious beliefs, and moral principles of its multi-nations, especially the Han.

2. National Celebrations and Holidays in China

•Although most national minorities have their own unique
festivals, they too share some of the most common ones with the
majority of Han people: such as Spring Festivals, Lantern Festival,
the Clear and Bright Festival and Mid-autumn Festival.
Chung Jie (The Spring Festival )
•Chung Jie, (the Spring Festival), is the most popular and important festivity among the Chinese, just as Christmas is among Westerners.
•It celebrates the New Year and occurs on the first day of the first lunar month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, normally around the early spring time of a year.
• It is also shared by some of the other national minorities including the Manzu, Mongol, Yaozu, and Zhuangzu.
• It was after the 1911 Revolution that the 1st of the lunar month was officially named the Spring Festival.
•The festival originated in China's history as an offering of sacrifices
to gods and ancestors at the beginning of each year during the
period of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC).
•Due to its history, important and various activities continue to
remain in the festival today.

The Legend of Nian ( the Year)

•The legend has it that in ancient China there lived a monster with a horn on its head called Nian (Year). Nian was extremely ferocious and bloodthirsty, and often appeared on New Year's Eve to devour the livestock like cattle and pigs, as well as people.
•In order to avoid the calamity caused by the monster of Year, on every New Year's Eve people would flee from their villages.
•But on one New Year's Eve, an old beggar came and promised to get rid of the monster in the village when the others left. •Nobody believed him, and they went up to the mountains and caves for protection.
•Around midnight, the monster came to the house where the old beggar stayed, but was quite scared at the red paper on the door and the sudden sound of exploding.
• Finally, seeing the old man in a red robe, the horrified monster fled instead of taking one step further.
•The next day, the people returned and were surprised to find the old man safe and sound. They realized the monster feared the red colour, the flame and the exploding firecrackers.
•They believed the old man was a celestial being who had come to help them drive away the monster by making red paper, red clothes, red candles, and setting exploding firecrackers.
•Hence the custom on every New Year's Eve of sticking red paper on the door (which became red couplets), blowing up firecrackers, keeping every house brilliantly illuminated, and staying up late into the night.

2.2 Lantern Festival

•The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is called Denglong Jie (Lantern Festival) or the traditional Sweet Dumpling Festival as Yuanxiao Jie.
• It is the first night when the moon is full after the Spring Festival, and is an exceptionally grand occasion.
Yuanxiao Jie (Sweet Dumpling Festival) / Denglong Jie (Lantern Festival)

•On this special evening, beautiful lanterns decorated with all kinds of riddles and poems are hung on every house and building.
• Also, on the street, there are many gorgeous performers who are walking on stilts, performing the lion dance and dragon lantern dance, running land boats, and setting off fireworks and firecrackers.
•Traditionally it was only on this special occasion that ladies and young girls, especially ones from the big and wealthy families who were kept in their own rooms all day and discouraged from seeing any men, were allowed to step out of their enclosed spaces, go downtown, and enjoy themselves by watching the exciting street activities or working out the riddles. Therefore, it was also a special occasion for the temporary freedom of women in the past.
•What's more, the sweet dumpling (Tangyuan or Yuanxiao) is the typical traditional festive food with a history of over 1000 years in China. Eating sweet dumpling on this festival symbolizes reunion, harmony and auspiciousness of the family.

2.3 The Clear and Bright Festival

•The Clear and Bright Festival falls around the 5th of April by the solar calendar.
•At this time, the spring begins and all plants on earth start to sprout with the freshness of the drizzling rain as well as the clearness and brightness of the day; hence the name of the Clear and Bright Festival.
•The day before the Clear and Bright Festival is the Cold Food Festival.