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Traditional Festivals in China

Characterized by diverse styles and themes, traditional Chinese festivals are an important part of the country's history and culture, both ancient and modern. A close relationship exists between many of the traditional festivals and chronology, mathematics, the Chinese Calendar and the twenty-four solar terms. Many of the customs connected with the traditional festivals have links with religious devotions, superstitions and myths. The form which most of the festivals take today was established around the time of the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220) and for many years, various eminent poets have written countless masterpieces describing the festivals and are still recited regularly today.

Almost every festival has its own unique origins and customs which reflect the traditional practices and morality of the whole Chinese nation and its people. The grandest and most popular festivals are the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), the Lantern Festival, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-autumn Festival, etc.

Chinese Traditional Festivals List

Festival Name	Date	Customs
Chinese New Year	1st - 15th of the first lunar month	pasting scrolls, the character 'Fu', and paper-cuts pictures, setting-off firecrackers and fireworks, paying New Year visits, and eating jiaozi.
Lantern Festival	15th day of the first lunar month	watching lanterns and fireworks, guessing lantern riddles, performing folk dances, and eating yuanxiao.
Qingming Festival	April 4th or 5th of the solar calendar	tomb sweeping, spring outings, and flying kites.
Dragon Boat Festival	5th day of the 5th lunar month	dragon boat racing, eating zongzi, wearing a perfume pouch and tying five-colour silk thread, and hanging mugwort leaves and calamus.
Double Seventh Festival	7th day of seventh lunar month	praying for skillful hands, appreciating the stars, and eating noodles, jiaozi, and wontons.
Mid-autumn Festival	15th day of the 8th lunar month	appreciating and offering sacrifice to the moonlight and eating moon cakes.
Double Ninth Festival	9th day of the 9th lunar month	eating Chongyang cake, drinking chrysanthemum wine, climbing mountains and appreciating beautiful chrysanthemums.
Winter Solstice	Dec. 21st, 22nd or 23rd in solar calendar	having dumplings in northern areas and having sticky puddings in southern areas
Laba Festival	8th day of the 12th lunar month	eating laba rice porridge.

Timetable of Chinese Traditional Festivals (2024-2033)
FestivalYear	Chinese New Year	Lantern Festival	Qingming	Dragon Boat	Double Seventh	Mid-autumn	Double Ninth	Laba
2024	Feb. 10	Feb. 24	Apr. 4	Jun. 10	Aug. 10	Sep. 17	Oct. 11	Jan. 7, 2025
2025	Jan. 29	Feb. 12	Apr. 4	May 31	Aug. 29	Oct. 6	Oct. 29	Jan. 26, 2026
2026	Feb. 17	Mar. 3	Apr. 5	Jun. 9	Aug. 19	Sep. 25	Oct. 18	Jan. 15, 2027
2027	Feb. 6	Feb. 20	Apr. 5	Jun. 9	Aug. 8	Sep. 15	Oct. 8	Jan. 4, 2028
2028	Jan. 26	Feb. 9	Apr. 4	Jun. 27	Aug. 26	Oct. 3	Oct. 26	Jan. 22, 2029
2029	Feb. 13	Feb. 27	Apr. 4	Jun. 16	Aug. 16	Sep. 22	Oct. 16	Jan. 11, 2030
2030	Feb. 3	Feb. 17	Apr. 5	Jun. 5	Aug. 5	Sep. 12	Oct. 5	Jan. 1, 2031
2031	Jan. 22	Feb. 6	Apr. 5	Jun. 24	Aug. 24	Oct. 1	Oct. 24	Jan. 20, 2032
2032	Feb. 10	Feb. 25	Apr. 4	Jun. 12	Aug. 12	Sep. 19	Oct. 12	Jan. 8, 2033
2033	Jan. 31	Feb. 14	Apr. 4	Jun. 1	Aug. 1	Sep. 8	Oct. 1	Jan. 27, 2034

Note: The dates above refer to the gregorian calendar.

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- Last updated on Sep. 24, 2024 by Gabby Li -

Questions & Answers on Traditional Festivals in China

Asked by Lisa from FRANCE | Nov. 03, 2023 14:41

Signalement d'une erreur dans votre tableau "Chinese Traditional Festivals List"

Je pense avoir trouvé une erreur à la première ligne du tableau "Chinese Traditional Festivals List",
où l'on trouve pour la fête de Chinese New Year "1st - 15th of the first lunar month" (colonne "Date").
La bon texte ne serait-il pas : "1st DAY of the first lunar month" ?
En vous remerciant de votre retour,
Bien cordialement,
Lisa

Reporting an error in your "Chinese Traditional Festivals List" table
I think I found an error in the first line of the "Chinese Traditional Festivals List" table,
where for the Chinese New Year holiday we find "1st - 15th of the first lunar month" (column "Date").
Wouldn't the right text be: "1st DAY of the first lunar month"?
Thanking you for your feedback,
Yours sincerely,
Lisa

Answers (1)

Answered by Jesse | Nov. 05, 2023 19:10

Hi, here refers to a broad sense of Chinese New Year celebration, which generally lasts from the 1st day to the 15th day of the Chinese first lunar month.

Asked by caroline from IRELAND | Feb. 20, 2018 14:48

In china do thay celebrate irish festivals?

Answers (4)

Answered by Julia from FRANCE | Feb. 21, 2018 19:13

Generally speaking, they won't celebrate irish festivals. Besides traditional Chinese holidays, they usually celebrate western festivals such as Christmas Day, Halloween and Valentine's Day.

Hope helpful!

Answered by mahansong | Oct. 14, 2021 23:06

No, in China we celebrate our own festivals.

Answered by Etla | Oct. 03, 2022 03:43

Christmas and Halloween are popular events to celebrate in Hong Kong SAR, China.

Answered by Etla | Oct. 03, 2022 03:58

You may be talking about HKSAR, China. Christmas Day, Halloween and Valentine's Day are popular events in HKSAR, China. People do make good use of these events to have fun, having parties, mostly with friends, but Christmas are having gatherings with families and friends. As regard to Chinese Festivals, HKSAR people take it more serious to celebrate all Chinese Festivals , and all these Festivals are normally a must celebrating with families. All Chinese Festivals are recognised and are granted public holidays for each Chinese Festivals. It can easily be found on a calendar showing both western calendar and Chinese calendar on same card if you search a calendar details in the HKSAR website. Having said that, Christmas is also an event where public holidays are granted too.