Have you ever climbed the Great Wall of China? Are you familiar with Chinese culture? What unique festivals in China might spark your curiosity? China's culture is vast and profound, with festivals following one after another, too many to count. Let me introduce a few particularly special festivals.
In Chinese culture, we have many festivals. Every festival has a unique story. First of all, let me share with you about the Dragon Boat Festival. This festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month; it is celebrated in memory of the great poet Qu Yuan, who was a loyal and patriotic poet from the ancient Chinese state of Chu. Disheartened by the corruption and chaos in his country, he eventually drowned himself in the Miluo River to prove his loyalty and protest. To honor Qu Yuan, people hold dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival, symbolizing the attempt to search for him after his death. Additionally, people make Zongzi, which were originally thrown into the river to prevent fish from eating Qu Yuan's body. Today, the Dragon Boat Festival has become an important traditional holiday in China, representing patriotism and cultural heritage. Chinese people will eat Zong zi instead of throwing them into the river. The interesting fact is that the Dragon Race mostly takes place in south China.
Another meaningful festival I would like to introduce is the Chongyang Festival. In Chinese tradition, children are always taught to be filial to the elderly, and the Chongyang Festival a festival is a day dedicated to honoring and showing respect to the elderly, as the number nine is considered a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture. On this day, people often visit their elders, hike to high places for good fortune. The festival is not only a celebration of longevity but also a reminder of the importance of filial piety and caring for the older generation.
I don’t know how many countries celebrate Halloween, the next festival I am talking about is the Chinese Ghost Festival. This is indeed different from Halloween. In the folk legend myth story, a “real” ghost could come out of the dark night. On the day of Halloween, people would dress up as a ghost, however, on Chinese Ghost Festival day children cannot go out, and people cannot take small paths to the river at night. There are actually three major Ghost Festivals in China, they are QingMing Festival, Zhong Yuan Festival and Hanyi Festival. The dates of these three Ghost Festivals are in different months: Qing Ming Festival is usually observed between April 4th and 6th each year. Zhong Yuan Festival is celebrated on the 5th day of the 7th lunar month. Han Yi Festival is a time to provide warm clothing for the deceased and is observed on the 1st day of the 0th lunar month.
If you happen to visit China on any of the festival's dates, now you’ve learned the details about them, and you can understand and enjoy more of the Chinese Culture.
