Enjoy the Lantern Festival and other festivals!

The Lantern Festival is another fascinating Chinese festival.

The Chinese New Year is the most important festival followed by the Moon Festival. But I like this festival because it is very colourful and lifts one’s spirits.

The Lantern Festival falls 15 days into the Chinese New Year. This is when the full moon appears.

Red lanterns are displayed. The brightness goes with the bright full moon.

Red is the lucky colour in China.

The red lantern signifies good fortune.

The Chinese believe the hanging of red lanterns will attract good luck.

During the Chinese New Year period, you will see red lanterns hanging in homes, restaurants, hotels, and public buildings to bring good luck for the coming year.

Red lanterns will also be hung for other special occasions such as a wedding. Once again the red lanterns are thought to bring good luck and guide the couple along a fortunate path.

This is another example of the reverence the Chinese have for the colour red.

There are several other Chinese Festivals that have been celebrated for hundreds if not thousands of years.

These are steeped in mythology and history but are still important to the Chinese. They are:

• Zhonghe Festival (Dragon Raising its Head) - 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month. Traditionally it is to wish for a good harvest.



• Clear and Bright Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day, All Souls Day) - About April 5 - A day to visit and clean relatives' graves and to enjoy nature in spring time.



• Dragon Boat - usually a day in June. The dragon is the most revered symbol in Chinese history.

  The first Dragon Boat race was thought to have occurred more than 2000 years ago on the River Yangtze. It commemorates the death of an ancient Chinese poet - Qu Yuan in 278 BC.




• Qi Xi (Chinese Valentine's Day) - in August of each year.



• Double Ninth Festival (9th day of 9th month of the lunar year - in October). Day for hiking and using chrysanthemum in some way like drinking chrysanthemum tea or wine.



• Mid Winter Solstice (22nd December) - Celebration of longer days ahead. Traditional dumpling is eaten to beat the cold.

In addition, the regional areas have many local festivals. This reflects the long history and diverse cultures that make up China.