Folk-Festivals of China

Origin of Festivals
- Has a very long histroy.
- When people had a bountiful harvest,they gathered and celebrated their good fortune with gala performannces. When disasters struck, they offered sacrifices to the gods and their ancestors,hoping for a blessing.
- The change of the seasons, flowers in spring,and the bright moon in autumn could all arouse their longing for a more beautiful life.
- Thus, creative activities were held to signify these events, Gradually these activities developed into festivals .

Spring Festivals
- Evolved from an activity known as the Winter Sacrifice.
- As the cold winter began to recede and the warm spring was about to begin,the people of an entire clan gathered together.
- They brought out their bounty from hunting,fishing and the field.They thanked the gods for the blessings of nature, including the mountains, rivers, the sun,moon and stars,They thanked their ancestors,Then they shared and enjoyed the sumptuous bounty of the land, sea, air and fields as they ate, danced and sang heartily.
- Based on the lunar calendar,the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
- In Chinese, we also say Guo Nian, meaning keeping off the monster of Nian.
- The popular legend about the origin of Nian
- Nian was afraid of three things:the red color,a bright flame,and a loud noise.
- Painted their door red,burned a fire in front of their door-ways,stayed up all night beating on things to make a loud noise.
- This is how the Chinese people began to set off firecrackers for the Spring Festival.
Food of Spring Festival
- Dumplings:reunion
- Noodles:longevity
- New year cakes and Tongyuan
a New Year visit
Recreational activities
- Dragon Dance and Lion Dance
- Walking on stilts
Nowadays something have been changed
- Using telephone to convey greetings
- Travelling during the new year holidays
- Firecrackers are banned in some big cities
-It seems that all our traditions are facing new challenges. Maybe when the children of the next generation grow up, they can only learn about Chinese traditions from books.

Yuanxiao Festival
On the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month people began preparing for the Spring Festival about 20 days befor. However, after the Yuanxiao Festival, everything returns to normal.
Yuan means first,while xiao means night. Yuanxiao is the first time when we see the full moon in the new year. It is traditionally a time for family reunion. The most prominent activity of the Yuanxiao Festival is the displaying of all types of beautiful lanterns. So the occasion is also called the Lantern Festival.
Origin of the Lantern Festival (religious worship)
Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought,storms, pestilence upon human beings.Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC,he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.
Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.
Another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao.
Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself.

Qingming Festivals
- Qingming,meaning clear and bright, is the day for mourning the dead .
- It falls in early April every year.
- It corresponds with the onset of warmer weather, the start of spring plowing, and of family outings.
•The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.
•Qingming is not just a day of remembrance, it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring, often by going out for a picnic. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh.
•Qing ming has also been a favorite subject for painting
Springtime, especially in North China, is the windy season, just right for flying kites. It is not surprising that kite flying is very popular during the Qingming season.
The biggest kite could be a hundred meters long, made of A hundred sections to form a dragon or even a centipede. The annual Weifang Kite Festival held every April in East China's Shandong Province has become a major event, attracting thousands of tourists and kite flying competitors all over the world.
•The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.
•This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.
•On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.
•In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively.
•Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.
•The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.

Duanwu Festivals
- The Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
- For thousands of years, Duanwu has been marked by eating Zongzi and racing dragon boats.
•The taste of Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China.
•Zongzi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, because dates are abundant in the area. Eastern China’s Jiaxing County is famous for its pork-stuffed Zongzi. In the southern province of Guangdong, people stuff Zongzi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor. In Sichuan province, Zongzi is usually served with a sugar dressing.
•Most people still maintain the tradition of eating Zongzi on the day of the Duanwu Festival. But the special delicacy has become so popular that you can now buy it all the year round.
- Dragon boat racing is quite a spectacle, with drums beating, colorful flags waving, and thousands of people cheering on both sides of the river.
- Nowadays, it has become a popular sporting activity in Southern China. International dragon boat races are held in Guangzhou and Hong Kong every year.

Double-Seventh Day
- The Double-Seventh Day refers to the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
- The day is not as well-known as many other Chinese festivals. But almost everyone in China, young and old, is very familiar with the story behind this festival.
•A long long time ago, there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. He fell in love with Zhinu, “the Girl Weaver". Virtuous and kind, she was the most beautiful being in the whole universe. Unfortunately, the King and Queen of Heaven were furious finding out that their granddaughter had gone to the world of Man and taken a husband. Thus, the couple was separated by a wide swollen river in the sky and can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
•This sad love story has passed down from generation to generation. It is well known that very few magpies are seen on the Double－Seventh Day. This is because most of them fly to the Milky Way, where they form a bridge so that the two lovers might come together. The next day, it is seen that many magpies are bald； this is because Niulang and Zhinu walked and stood too long on the heads of their loyal feathered friends.
- The Double-Seventh Day is not a pulic holiday in China. However, it is still a day to celebrate the annual meeting of the loving couple, the Cowherd and the Girl Weaver. Not surprisingly, many People consider the Double-seventh Day the Chinese Valentine's Day.

Mid-Autumn Festival
- Chinese ancestors believed that the seventh, eighth, and ninth lunar months belong to autumn. So the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
- Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back more than 2,000 years. Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year. They chose the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month to worship the sun and the evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon. Every year the emperor would offer a sacrifice to the moon.
- In mid-autumn, farmers have just finished gathering their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. They are overwhelmed with joy when they have a harvest and at the same time, they feel quite relaxed after a year of hard work.
- So the 15th Day of the eighth lunar month has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival for ordinary people.
- Night falls. The land is bathed in silver moonlight. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies, chatting and sharing offerings to the moon.
Legends about the moon
- A long, long time ago, ten suns in the sky
- The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help.
- When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.
- One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo container
- A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi.
- Inviting him to drink, Chang'e and gives a beautiful flower to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her.
- This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.
- In order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to go to the Kunlun Mountains for elixir
- Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, and tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.
- Hou Yi and his wife decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.
- A wicked and merciless man killde Houyi and forced Chang'e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all and ascended to the which is nearest to the earth.
Moon-cake
- People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But one traditional custom has definitely remained and is shared by all the Chinese. This is eating the mooncake.
- In the 14th century, Chinese peasants could no longer bear the cruel rule of the Mongolians. They secretly planned an uprising on the night of the Mid -Autumn Festival. The peasant leaders took advantage of the custom of sending moon-cakes as festive presents. They left messages on paper about the plan and placed the messages under the moon-cakes. So all the peasants were informed about the uprising and finally, they won the battle.