2. Importance of Festivals
Festivals are an expressive way to celebrate glorious heritage, culture and
traditions. They are meant to rejoice special moments and emotions in our
lives with our loved ones. They play an important role to add structure to our
social lives, and connect us with our families and backgrounds. They give us a
distraction from our day to day, exhausting routine of life, and give us some
inspiration to remember the important things and moments in life. Festivals
were started to pass the legends, knowledge and traditions onto the next
generation.
All festivals are cultural in one way or another. There are many types of cultural
festivals such as National, Religious and Seasonal. They all serve the purpose
of bringing happiness to our lives, and strengthen our sense of community.
Festivals have many stories , customs and traditions
connected to them. Festivals manage to bring people
physically and emotionally together and add a lot of color
and interest to life .These festivals make life much more
interesting and colorful !Every festival has a symbolism
and the entire proceedings are centered around that
particular theme.
3. New Year of the Miao Ethnic Group
Time: around November
Location: Kaili, Guizhou Province
Activities: Bull fighting, horse racing, singing and dancing
It is the most important festival for the Miao people. It marks the
beginning of a new year. Actually the exact dates vary each year and in
different regions, and are only disclosed one or two months in advance.
The celebration in Leishan County, Kaili City of Guizhou Province is the
grandest one. During the event tourists can enjoy watching enchanting
Miao customs come alive through various kinds of ethnic activities.
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7. Shoton Festival
Time: around August
Location: Tibet
Activities: Tibetan opera performances, unveiling of Thangka and drinking
yoghurt.
Shoton Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals in Tibet. It
celebrates eating yogurt, the Tibetan monks who end their season of
meditation, the watching of Tibetan dramatic operas, and Tibetan Buddhism. It
is held annually in the month of August, or late in the sixth month or early in the
seventh month of the Tibetan calendar.
8.
9.
10. Water Splashing Festival
Time: around April
Location: Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Activities: Splashing water onto each other
It is the most important festival observed by the Dai ethnic people of
Xishuangbanna Prefecture, and, similar to neighboring Thailand's Songkran
Festival, it involves three days of celebrations that include sincere, yet light-
hearted religious rituals that invariably end in merrymaking, where everyone
ends up getting splashed, sprayed or doused with water. The Water
Splashing ceremony is more than just good-natured fun; it also contains a
religious element: water is regarded by the Dai as a symbol, firstly, of
religious purity, but also of goodwill among people. Therefore, splashing a
fellow human being with water during the Water Splashing Festival, whether
a close neighbor or a fellow villager, or even a stranger, is an expression of
the desire for good luck and prosperity to that person.
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14. Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Wherever they are,
people come home to celebrate the festival with their families.
The New Year's Eve dinner is called Reunion Dinner, and is believed to be
the most important meal of the year. Big families – families of several
generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together.
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18. According to China's various folk customs, people get together on the night of
the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities.
As China is a vast country with a long history and diverse cultures, Lantern
Festival customs and activities vary regionally, including lighting and
enjoying (floating, fixed, held, and flying) lanterns, appreciating the bright full
moon, setting off fireworks, guessing riddles written on lanterns,
eating tangyuan, lion dances, dragon dances, and walking on stilts.
The most important and prevalent customs are enjoying lanterns, guessing
lantern riddles, eating tangyuan, and lion dances.
Lantern Festival
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22. In some parts of Northern China, people eat dumpling soup on this day;
while residents of some other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will
keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China,
the whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean and
glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things.
Winter Solstice Festival
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26. Qingming Festival
Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and an
important day of sacrifice for most people to go and sweep
tombs and commemorate their ancestors. On this day, tomb
sweeping is one of the most important and popular activities
to show respect to ancestors.
On May 20, 2006, the festival was listed as one of the first
national intangible cultural heritage events.
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30. Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon boat racing is said to originate from the legend of people paddling
out on boats to seek the body of patriotic poet Qu Yuan (343–278 BC),
who drowned himself in the Miluo River.
Dragon boat racing is the most important activity during the Dragon
Boat Festival. The wooden boats are shaped and decorated in the form
of a Chinese dragon. The boat size varies by region. Generally it is about
20–35 meters in length and needs 30–60 people to paddle it.
During the races, dragon boat teams paddle harmoniously and hurriedly,
accompanied by the sound of beating drums. It is said that the winning
team will have good luck and a happy life in the following year.
Dragon boat races are a major sporting event in many places, which
competitors train hard for.
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33.
34. Double 7th
Festival
A picture about the legend of Niulang and his wife Zhinü.
The Double Seventh Festival (Qixi Festival) is one of Chinese
traditional festivals, and also known as a Chinese Valentine's Day. It
falls on the seventh day of the seventh Chinese lunar month. In
2015 it falls on August 27 (Thursday). There is no public holiday for
this festival.
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38. Mid-Autumn Festival
Chinese Moon Festival is traditionally celebrated on the fifteenth day of the
eighth funicular month (see Mid-Autumn Festival Dates), which is in September
or October. Mid-Autumn Festival 2015 is on September 27. Chinese people
will have a two-day holiday from September 26 to 27.
The Mid-autumn festival is the second most important festival after the Spring
Festival to Chinese people. Every year, when the festival comes people go
home from every corner of the country and the world to meet their family and
have dinner with them, admire the full moon and eat mooncakes.
Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and family
reunion. On Mid-Autumn Festival night the moon is supposed to be the brightest
and fullest, which is why the festival is also known as the "Day of Reunion" and
the "Moon Festival".
