The traditional Chinese holidays are an essential part of harvests or prayer offerings. The most important Chinese holiday is the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), which is also celebrated in overseas ethnic Chinese communities (for example in Malaysia, Thailand, or the USA). Traditional holidays vary from region to region, but most are scheduled according to the Chinese calendar; exceptions, like the Qingming and winter solstice days, fall on the respective jieqi (solar terms) in the agricultural calendar.
Four Traditional Festivals China's four recognized festivals are the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
List Chinese lunar date Gregorian date English name Chinese name Remarks Month Day1 ()1stChinese New Year (Spring Festival) / / Set off fireworks after midnight; visit family members1 ()7thRenri1 ()15thLantern Festival / Lantern parade and lion dance celebrating the first full moon. Eating tangyuan. This day is also the last day of new year celebration. This is Tourism Day in Taiwan2 ()2ndZhonghe Festival (Blue Dragon Festival) / / Eat Chinese pancakes (Chun bing, ) and noodles, clean the house. Also known as Dragon Raising its Head. This is Earth God's Birthday in TaiwanAt the Qingming solar term, solar longitude of 15°, 104th day after Dongzhi (winter solstice)5 April 2026Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Clear and Bright Festival) / Visit, clean, and make offerings at ancestral gravesites, spring outing105th day after Dongzhi6 April 2026Cold Food Festival (Hanshi Festival)寒食节3 ()3rdShangsi Festival / Traditional Chinese Women's Day, also known as / (fùnǚjié) or Double Third Festival. Sam Nyied SamCelebrated by the Zhuang people, an ethnic minority.3 ()15thGod of Medicine's BirthdayPublic holiday in Taiwan3 ()23rdMatsu's Birthday (Tin Hau Festival)Public holiday in Taiwan4 ()8thBuddha's Birthday / Visit Buddhist temple, offer food to the monks4 ()8thCheung Chau Bun Festival/5 ()5thDuanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) / Dragon boat race; eat sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves (zongzi, 粽子); drink yellow rice wine; related to the Legend of the White Snake. This festival commemorates the ancient poet Qu Yuan5 ()13thKuan Kung's Birthday and Cheng Huang's BirthdayCelebrated in Taiwan6 ()6thDouble Sixth Festival / 6 ()24th or 25thTorch Festival 7 ()7thQixi Festival (The Night of Sevens, Magpie Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day)According to legend, the goddess Zhinü fell in love with the farmer boy Niulang, but he was disapproved of by her mother goddess. As punishment, they were separated by the Milky Way and could only meet once a year on this night. 7 ()15th night (14th in parts of southern China)Ghost Festival / Burn fake paper money and make offerings to ancestors and the dead to comfort them in the afterlife and keep them from troubling the living.8 ()15thMid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival) / Eat mooncake, family reunion meal, related to the legend of Chang E and the Jade Rabbit, also called "Chinese Thanksgiving". 8 ()16thMonkey King Festival 8 ()26thFood Extermination Day Commemorate when Nurhaci's troops ran out of food, Northeast China specificEve of the 9th month (九月); goes on for nine daysNine Emperor Gods Festival9 ()9thDouble Ninth Festival (Chongyang Festival) / Autumn outing and mountain climbing, some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects.10 ()1stWinter Clothes Festival10 ()15thSaisiat Festival賽夏節Pas-taai Festival of the Saisiat tribe in TaiwanAt the Dongzhi solar term, solar longitude of 270°, the day of winter solsticeDongzhi Festival (Winter Solstice Festival)Have Tangyuan and Jiuniang and perform ancestor worship, Feast day, family gatherings, also named "Chinese Thanksgiving"12 ()8thLaba Festival / This is the day the Buddha attained enlightenment. People usually eat Laba congee, which is made of mixed grains and fruits. Beginning of the preparation for Chinese new year. 12 ()23rd/24thLittle New YearHonoring of Kitchen GodLast day of lunar yearChinese New Year's Eve
Public holidays Traditional holidays are generally celebrated in Chinese-speaking regions. For the most part however, only Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are statutory public holidays. This is the case in both mainland China and Taiwan whilst Hong Kong and Macau also observe Buddha's Birthday and Chung Yeung Festival. In Singapore, Chinese New Year is the only traditional Chinese public holiday, likewise with Malaysia, Indonesia & Brunei as well as Mauritius.
Each region has its own holidays on top of this condensed traditional Chinese set. Mainland China and Taiwan observe patriotic holidays, Hong Kong and Macau observe Christian holidays, and Malaysia and Singapore celebrate Malay and Indian festivals. Public holidays in the People's Republic of China Public holidays in Hong Kong Public holidays in Macau Public holidays in the Republic of China Public holidays in Taiwan (including unofficial holidays) Public holidays in Singapore Public holidays in Malaysia Public holidays in Indonesia Public holidays in Brunei Public holidays in Mauritius List of festivals in China
See also Jingchu Suishiji, an important text on the transition from ancient Chinese festivals to the present traditional ones Culture of China List of annual events in China Joss paper
References
External links Traditional Chinese festivals on china.org.cn