One of the most important Chinese festivals is the Mid-Autumn Festival.It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion. People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.But one traditional custom, eating the mooncakes–cakes shaped like the moon, has definitely remained and is shared by all the Chinese.

Different Celebrated Forms

Mid-autumn festival For thousands of years, the Chinese people have related the
vicissitudes of life to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes; joy and sorrow,
parting and reunion. Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion. All family members try to get together on this special day. Those who can not return home watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.
Today,festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to attend special perfomances in parks or on public squares.
People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens. Thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight.
In East Chia’s Zhejiang Province, watching the flood tide of the Qian-tang River
during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must for local peple, but also an
attraction for those from other parts of the country. The ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In mid autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational forces upon the seas. The outh of the Qiantang River is shaped lik a bugle. So the flood tide which forms at the narrow mouth is particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the river bank,watching the roaring waves. At its peak, the tide rises as high as three and a half meters.

No related posts.

Location: Jiangshu province Yangzhou city Qingtong county

This is a traditional festival, During the festival boats for nearby fishing villages converge at Qintong Town for a few days of rejoicing. Farmers are singing and dance in boats, and also hold a dragon and lion dance, boats competition.

No related posts.

Wrestling performed in a Nadam Fair

Folk-style dancing and singing is performed during the Nadam as Mongolians are good at dancing and singing. The Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County is reputed as the Land of Folk Songs. There are hundreds of singers, who are not only able to sing but also compose. Entertainment programs include Haolaibao, comic dialogues, antistrophic singing and performances by horse-head lute, Yataghan Dance Wine Cup Dance, etc.

Feat on horseback performed in a Nadam Fair

At the fair, men and women, old or young, dress up and participate, or watch from cars or on horses. Other entertainment includes horseracing, wrestling, archery and dancing and singing. The Mongolians in Liaoning Province commonly dress in Han costumes, i.e. uniforms or civvies. During the event of the Nadam or other festivals, they put on long Mongolian gowns, but they prefer red, yellow and blue costumes. Five-colored ribbons are inlaid on the shoulder and front of the gown with red and green silk bands at the waist. They wear boots and usually have a sword with a scabbard, snuffbox and sickle at the waist.

The Nadam is also known as a fair of agricultural and livestock goods. Apart from the industry and farming sideline products, there are also other local special goods, such as beef and mutton, fumed food, cheese, dried cheese, cream, milk curd and yoghurt. Ghee tea and baked full mutton are also supplied at the tea booths and restaurants. Since the staple Mongolian diet generally consists of cereals and vegetables, the Nadam provides them with a chance to enjoy Mongolian traditional rich dishes.

No related posts.

Water Splashing Festival is a traditional festival for the Dai people in Xishuangbanna and other places to send off the old and ring in the new, and to wish each other well. Water splashing is featured at this festival as entertainment.

On the eve of the first day of the festival, activities include launching rockets and dragon boat rowing, etc. The second day is known as Neuter Day, which belongs to neither the old nor the new year. On this day, according to the custom, people usually stay at home or go hunting in the mountains.

The third day falls on New Year’s day. In the morning, people dress up and go to the temple to worship Buddha. They make three to five pagoda-shaped sand piles over one meter tall and plant eight bamboo twigs on top wrapped in red and green strips. They then sit around the pagodas to listen respectfully to the scripture and historical legends and pray for good weather and many offspring.

In the afternoon, every woman has to carry fresh water to clean the Buddha statue so she might get his blessing. People then splash water on each other to symbolize the blessing, rinsing away sickness and disaster with holy water for a happy life. At night, music accompanied by drumbeats reverberates throughout the villages and people enjoy dancing and singing to their hearts’ content.

The Water Splashing Festival practiced by the De’angs, which usually occurs around mid-April, is similar in some ways to that of the Dais. Nearing the festival, people are busy preparing new clothing, rice cakes, water dragons and barrels. The elders gather in the temple and build a small room where the Sakyamuni ceremony worship takes place. Here, the water dragon, carved out of a huge wood block four to five meters long, is erected. It is painted and equipped with grooves.

Girls carry a basin full of water, which flows to the Buddha figure in the small room through the groove. The elder of prestige then carries flowers, which he dips in the water and spreads the water over people to bless them for luck and a good start in the New Year. At this time, people become excited, wishing each other the New Year’s greetings. Young people lift barrels over their heads, pouring water on the hands of the elders to bless everybody with a happy life, good health and longevity.

The elders extend their hands and hold water in greeting and blessing the young people. After the ceremony, people form a line behind the elephant-leg drum, streaming on the spring side, riverbank and start singing, dancing, chasing and splashing each other.

The Water Splashing Festival is considered the ceremony the De’angs celebrates in the New Year and an opportunity to scope out their lovers. Sending the bamboo basket is popular among the De’angs. Late at night, boys visit girls and present baskets to them; the most beautiful one is kept for his beloved girl to express his love and to get her feedback.

Hence, every girl can get several baskets, but the final lover is determined at the Water Splashing Festival depending on whose basket the girl will carry. That day, as every girl carries a pretty basket the boys observe the baskets on the girls’ backs to see which one belongs to him. When the two lovers meet, they splash water on each other to express their agitation and gladness.

No related posts.

The Torch Festival falls on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month. On that day, Yi people from Shilin County gather at the Stone Forest and participate in various activities, such as shopping in the open market fair, bull fighting, dancing and a fireworks display. It is also a good opportunity for young men and women to meet their prospective spouses.

Yunnan Province is home to 25 ethnic minorities, each with its own culture and conventions, and, consequently, there is a plethora of folk festivals throughout the year. These exotic celebrations, together with the rich natural heritage the province’s flora and fauna, display a colorful Yunnan to the world. The Torch Festival, celebrated by the fire-worshipping Yi people, is one such joyful occasion.

On the day of the Torch Festival, men and women in pairs form rows facing one another on a patch of grass. The men play three-stringed instruments as the women kick and clap to the tempo. Snack vendors take full advantage of the occasion, pitching booths under shady trees where people can rest and take refreshments before carrying on with the day’s activities.

This assembly is a good chance for young men and women to find their “Ashima” or “Brother Ahei,” paying particular attention to their costumes. Young women wear a stiff, triangular piece of fabric on either side of their headdress to attract the attention of young men, but no young man should ever touch this ornament, or he will be forced to labor for three years at the girl’s home. On their wedding day, young women remove the two triangles and lay them flat on top of their heads to symbolize marital peace and happiness.

When a young man chooses a certain young woman, he snatches away her embroidered belt when she is not looking. This practice can be traced back to the ancient Yi marriage custom, where the bridegroom pretends to kidnap his bride. If the young woman returns his love she will allow him to court her. If not, she will put on another belt allowing the man to keep the one he had “stolen.”

In the afternoon a costume contest begins. A team from each of the 27 Yi kindred tribes displays their beautiful costumes on stage. There is a huge diversity of men’s and women’s clothes among them — the headdresses alone encompass many varieties, such as circular, cylindrical or cone-shaped curves adorned with flowers or with hanging embroidered balls, colorful ribbons, and fringes. Seated on the surrounding slopes are the audience, watching and cheering on their teams.

As night falls, the crowd gets bigger, and the climax of the Torch Festival draws near. When it is completely dark, the activities on the open ground subside and a five-meter-tall platform venerating the shrine of the God of Fire is erected to the north.

Suddenly, the ground becomes illuminated by light from its four corners, and the fire-worship ritual begins. Hundreds of women clad in blue shirts and trousers and black aprons enter the grounds in a square formation. They hold a fan-shaped black-and-white wooden drum in their left hands and a drumstick in their right. They then move towards the center of the ground, beating their drums and leaping, squatting and shouting to represent the hard life and daily struggles their ancestors had to endure before they learned to use fire.

The drum beat then stops and the women kneel to face the east from where an army of men clad in black turbans and cloaks emerges. In the front are four men carrying a thick bamboo pole on which stands a necromancer wearing a black gown, swaying and shaking his long, loose hair. On either side are three men, each holding a large red mask with a yellow beard and exposed teeth — images of the God of Fire.

The necromancer advances to the front of the shrine and makes obeisance and prays for the Yi to be blessed with a bountiful harvest in the coming year. He then raises his arm and a ball of fire bursts from the top of the shrine, turning it into a torch. As the crowd cheers, the young men shed their cloaks, and, bare-chested, converge on the site where they cavort wildly, accompanied by women who sing and beat their drums.

Gradually, the women disappear, and, having discarded their drums, reappear holding torches, which are simultaneously lit to illuminate the dark ground. As the crowd bursts into thunderous cheers, fireworks shoot into the sky from all around, and the torches and their bearers form lines that move rapidly across the ground like flying dragons.

As the performance draws to a close, bonfires all around the ground are lit and spectators on the surrounding slopes form circles and dance around the bonfires. At this point, all those present on the sacred site — young or old, man or woman, local or visitor — become completely immersed in the happiness and joy of the festive atmosphere.

No related posts.

The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year is an important day for the Chinese people. The day is called Duan Wu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated everywhere in China. This festival dates back to about 2,000 years ago with a number of legends explaining its origin. The best-known story centers on a great patriotic poet named Qu Yuan.

Qu Yuan, a patriotic court official of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago. Qu tried to warn the emperor of an increasingly courrupt government, but fails. In a last desperate protest, he throws himself into the river and drowns. Later Qu Yuan’s sympathizers jump into boats, beat the water with their oars and made rice dumplings wrapped in reed-leaves (zongzi) and scatter them into the Miluo River in the hope that fish in the river would eat the rice dumplings instead of the body of the deceased poet.

At the news of the poet’s death, the local people raced out in boats in an efforts of searching his body. Later the activity became a boat race and the boats gradually developed into dragon-boats. In many places along rivers and on the coast today, the holiday also features dragon-boat races. In these high-spirited competitions, teams of rowers stroke their oars in unision to propel sleek, long vessels through the water.

No related posts.

The Chong Yang Festival, also named Double Ninth Festival, falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, hence it gets name of Double Ninth Festival. On this day, people would like to drink chrysanthemum wine and have chrysanthemum cakes.

The chrysanthemum is a plant often used as a Chinese herbal medicine. People in ancient times believed that, in addition to detoxifcation, chrysanthemum could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill in late autumn. So, making and drinking chrysanthemum could be traced back many centuries, and it became the traditional food on Double Ninth Festival, to avoid evil spirits and misfortunes. Besides, the Chinese word for wine is Jiu, a homonym of the Chinese word for “long”, symbolizing longevity.

Another special food for this festival is chrysanthemum cakes. The Chinese word for cake is Gao, a homonym of the Chinese word for “high”, symbolizing progress and promotion at work and in daily life and improvement in life year by year. In addition, mountains are high, so eating cakes can take the place of going for a climb — by a stretch of the imagination.

Since “nine” is the highest odd digit, people take two of them together to signify longevity. Therefore, the ninth day of the ninth month has become a special day for people to pay their respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves. It has also been declared China’s Day for the Elderly.

Origins: The festival began as early as the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC). According to the yin/yang dichotomy that forms a basis to the Chinese world view, yin represents the elements of darkness and yang represents life and brightness. The number nine is regarded as yang. The ninth day of the ninth month is a double yang day, hence the name “Chong Yang Festival”. (Chong means “repeat” in Chinese.) The ninth month also heralds the approach of winter. It is a time when the living need warm clothing, and filial Chinese sons and daughters extended this to make the festival a time for providing winter clothes for their ancestors. The Double Ninth Festival, therefore, also became an occasion to visit the graves of dead family members. Clothes made of paper would then be burnt as offerings.

No related posts.