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Traditional Chinese Festivals

Date	English Name	Chinese Name	Remarks
Last day of lunar year	Chinese New Year Eve	• 除夕 • 大年夜
1st day of 1st lunar month	Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)	• 新年 • 農曆新年 • 春節/春节 • 大年初一	More fireworks after midnight, visit family members.
15th day of 1st lunar month	Lantern Festival	• 元宵節/元宵节 • 小年	Lantern parade and lion dance celebrating the first full moon. Eating tangyuan. This day is also the last day of new year celebration.
2nd day of 2nd lunar month	Zhonghe Festival (Blue Dragon Festival)	• 中和節/中和节 • 青龍節 / 青龙节	Eat Chinese pancakes (Chun bing, 春餅) and noodles, clean the house. Also known as Dragon Raising its Head
3rd day of 3rd lunar month	Shangsi Festival	上巳節/上巳节	Traditional Chinese Women's Day, also known as 婦女節(fùnǚjié)
At the Qingming solar term, solar longitude of 15°, 104 days after winter solstice (around 5 April)	Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Clear and Bright Festival)	清明節 / 清明节	Visit, clean, and make offerings at ancestral gravesites, spring outing
5th day of 5th lunar month	Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival)	端午節 / 端午节	Dragon boat race, eat dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves Zongzi. This festival commemorates the ancient poet Qu Yuan; drink yellow rice wine, related to the White Snake Lady legend
7th day of 7th lunar month	Qixi Festival (The Night of Sevens, Magpie Festival)	七夕	According to legend, the goddess "Zhi Nü" (the star Vega) fell in love with the farmer boy "Niu Lang" (the star Altair), but was disapproved by her mother goddess. As punishment, they were separated by the Milky Way and could only meet once a year on this night.
15th day of 7th lunar month	Ghost Festival	中元節 / 中元节	Burn fake paper money and make offerings to ancestors and the dead to appease them, so they will not come and trouble the living.
15th day of 8th lunar month	Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)	中秋節 / 中秋节	Eat mooncake, family union meal, related to the legend of Chang E
9th day of 9th lunar month	Double Ninth Festival (Chongyang Festival)	重陽節 / 重阳节	Autumn outing and mountain climbing, some Chinese also visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects.
15th day of the 10th lunar month	Spirit Festival / Water Lantern Festival	下元節 / 下元节	Set flower shaped lanterns adrift in a stream or river at sundown, give offerings to deceased whose wandering spirits/ghosts may return at night to visit.
21st or 22nd of December	Dongzhi Festival (Winter Solstice Festival)	冬至	Have Tangyuan and Jiuniang and perform ancestor worship, Feast day, family gatherings, also named "Chinese Thanksgiving"
8th day of 12th lunar month	Laba Festival	臘八節	This is the day the Buddha attained enlightenment. People usually eat Laba congee, which is made of mixed grains and fruits.

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Events 08-09 Holidays Every Year