There are all kinds of holidays in China these days, both traditionally celebrated and relatively new. Here's a quick break-down of the different holidays. Click the links to go to the full article about the particular holiday.
1. Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year, Spring Festival)
Chinese New Year is the biggest, loudest and most important holiday in the year. It usually falls in late January or early February (dependent on the lunar calendar) and traditional celebrations last 15 days until the Lantern Festival (see next entry). Workers typically get about a week off but schools and factories shut for longer. Each new year is associated with one of the twelve zodiac animals.
2. The Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival closes Chinese New Year celebrations fifteen days after New Year's Day. Children traditionally made a paper lantern and bring it out to the street at night and these days, many cities have huge lantern displays.
3. Tomb Sweeping Day (Qing Ming)
Qing Ming usually heralds spring and is a day for people to go to their ancestral homes and clean their family tombs. It occurs on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, usually in the first week of April. It's a public holiday and folks get one day off from school and work.
4. International Labor Day
International Labor Day falls on May 1. The Chinese public gets one day off to take a break and think about labor.
5. Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, usually falling sometime in June. Mainland Chinese people mainly mark this traditional holiday by making zongzi, a sticky rice dish steamed in bamboo leaves. Folks have one day off for this public holiday.
6. Qi Xi - Chinese Valentine's Day or the Night of Sevens
On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a traditional unrequited love story is celebrated by young people. It's not a public holiday but you'll see decorative trees at temples and in shopping malls with little notes attached to them waving in the breeze. The day usually lands in late July or early August.
7. Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month or smack in the middle of fall. Celebrating the full moon, this holiday is traditionally commemorated by eating yuebing or mooncakes. Mooncakes are big business and you'll see sales starting at least a month early. Folks usually get at least one day off from work or school but depending on when the date falls, they may receive 2-3 days off.
8. China National Day
October first marks the founding of the People's Republic of China. The government grants a long holiday in October and along with Chinese New Year, the October holidays mark the second of the two long public holidays in China. The holiday is extended through the week surrounding the first of October. The government marks the holiday every ten years with a big parade but regular folks just enjoy the nice October weather and a break from work and school.
9. Travel During Chinese Public Holidays
This article pertains particularly to Chinese New Year but is applicable to all holidays. While officially "public" holidays are bank holidays, the only people who won't be working are in offices, factories and schools. Everything else is open and ready for business - even the post office. So while travel during peak holidays might be more crowded and expensive, you will find everything open.
