Chinese Festivals
Festivals mark the passing of time in the course of a year. The celebrations often require time and effort to prepare and involves a large social network of friends and relatives.
Overtime, the festivals that continued to be observed and celebrated tells us many things about the people and society.
Chinese festivals follow the lunar calendar and the actual date changes every year. Below are the dates of various festivals.
You can also check previous year's dates in our festival dates page.
| Chinese Fesitvals |
Gregorian date |
Lunar date |
Chinese New Year
农历新年 |
16 Feb 2018 |
1st day of 1st lunar month |
| Birthday: God of Wealth 财神诞 |
20 Feb 2018 |
5th day of the 1st Lunar month |
Birthday: Jade Emperor
玉皇上帝圣诞
Lantern Festival
元宵节 |
2 Mar 2018 |
15th day of 1st lunar month |
Birthday:Guan Yin
观音诞
See also Enlightment and Renunciation dates
|
4 Apr 2018 |
19th day of 2nd lunar month |
Qing Ming Festival
清明节
|
5 Apr 2018 |
15th day from the Spring Equinox |
Birthday: God of Medicine
保生大帝圣诞
|
30 Apr 2018 |
15th day of the 3rd lunar month |
Birthday: Goddess of Birth and Childcare
注生娘娘圣诞
|
5 May 2018 |
20th day of the 3rd lunar month |
Birthday of Mazu
妈祖诞
|
8 May 2018 |
23rd day of 3rd lunar month |
Vesak Day
卫塞节
|
22 May 2018 |
8th day of 4th lunar month
China, Hong Kong, Korea |
Vesak Day
卫塞节
|
29 May 2018 |
15th Day of 4th Lunar Month Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore |
Dragon Boat Festival 端午节
|
18 Jun 2018 |
5th day of 5th lunar month |
| Birthday of Hainan 108 Brothers |
10 Jul 2018 |
27th day of 5th lunar |
Enlightenment day of Guan Yin 观音诞
See also Birthday and Renunciation dates
|
31 Jul 2018 |
19th day of 6th lunar month |
Birthday: Guan Gong
关圣帝君诞 |
5 Aug 2018 |
24th day of 6th lunar month |
Hungry Ghosts Festival 中元节
|
11 Aug - 9 Sept 2018 |
7th lunar month |
Birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
地藏王菩萨诞 |
9 Sept 2018 |
30th day of the 7th lunar month |
Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节
Birthday: Yue Lao
月老诞
|
24 Sep 2018 |
15th day of 8th lunar month |
Birthday: Monkey God 齐天大圣千秋 |
25 Sep 2018 |
16th day of 8th lunar month |
Birthday of Confucius 孔子诞 |
6 Oct 2018 |
27th day of 8th lunar month |
9 Emperor Gods Festival 九皇大帝圣诞
|
9 - 17 Oct 2018 |
1st to 9th day of 9th lunar month |
Renunciation day of Guan Yin 观音诞
See also Birthday and Enlightment dates
|
27 Oct 2018 |
19th day of 9th lunar month |
Winter Solstice
冬至 |
13 Dec 2018 |
7th day of the 11th lunar month |
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Chinese New Year 农历新年, 春节
Chinese New Year is the most important event in the Chinese cultural calendar. hinese New Year falls on the first 15 days of the first lunar month (usually Jan or Feb)
 Preparing for Chinese New Year
Preparing for the Chinese New Year involves months of work and planning before the big day.
Celebration starts on New Year's eve
After much time and effort, the count down for New Year starts. The New Year eve is also effectively the start of Chinese New Year celebrations.
Nian Gao, 年糕, New year cake
A Chinese pastry used during the Chinese New Year and also as gifts to family, friends and business associates.
Red Packets
Red coloured rectangle envelopes used for holding money as gifts during auspicious occasions. Read about the amounts considerd ok to put in a red packet and the amounts that are not so ok.
Yu Sheng, 鱼生
A special dish of raw fish salad consumed from the 7th day of Chinese New Year. This dish was inspired by Cantonese custom and invented in Singapore.
Fire Crackers
Fire crackers, replicas of fire crackers and images of them are almost every during the Chinese new year. We also have a clip for you to watch in case you live in an area where it is banned.
Dragon Boat Festival, Duan Yu Jie, 端午节
The Duan Wu Jie falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, usually in June.
Qu Yuan 屈原
Qu Yuan, the main character around which the dumpling festival revolves. Read about the historical period that Qu Yuan lived in as well as see photos of his, hometown, temple, and tomb. These structures are being submerged by the three gorges dam 三峡construction.
Zong Zi， 粽子 (Dumplings)
The food item that is closely associated with the Dumpling Festival.
Dragon Boat 龙舟
The dragon boat custom that evolved from civilian’s attempt to save Qu Yuan to an international sports event.
Dragon Boat Festival main page
Vesak Day
 Vesak Day
Different Buddhist traditions celebrating Vesak.
Hungry Ghost Festival
 The Hungry Ghost Festival also known as Zhong Yuan Jie, 中元节 and Ullambana, Yulan Jie, 盂兰盆, falls on the 7th lunar month.
Mid Autumn Festival 中秋节
The Mid Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar month, usually in Auguest or September.
 Mid Autumn celebrations looks at the customs leading to the day itself as well as myths and legends associated with Mid Autumn.
Moon cake and Mongols examines the myths of moon cake's role in overthrow of Mongol dynasty. Is it historical fact or historical fiction?
Moon cakes explores tradition and contemporary variations of moon cakes as well as the social functions of moon cake as part of the gift system.
Mid Autumn Main page
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