A Glimpse of Traditional Chinese Culture Traditional Festivals

A Glimpse of Traditional Chinese Culture Traditional Festivals

Chinese Major Traditional Festivals Origin of Traditional Festivals Spring Festival; Lantern Festival; Qingming Festival/ Tomb-sweeping Festival Dragon Boat Festival; Mid-Autumn Festival; Double Ninth Festival.

Warm-up Activities 1. A list of Chinese Traditional Festivals 2. The Origin of Chinese Traditional Festivals

1. Fill in the following table about Traditional Chinese Festivals Date Food/activities 1 st day of the 1 st lunar month light lanterns, yuanxiao (rice dumplings) April 4 -6（solar） Pyramid rice dumplings, dragon boat race Mid-Autumn Festival

Traditional Chinese Festivals Date Food/activities The Spring Festival 1 st day of the 1 st lunar month Dumplings /family feast Paste couplets… The Lantern Festival 15 th day of the 1 st lunar month light lanterns, yuanxiao (rice dumplings) Tomb Sweeping Day (Pure Bright Festival ) April 4 -6（solar） Sweep tombs/ mourn the The Dragon Boat Festival 5 th day of the 5 th lunar month Pyramid rice dumplings, dragon boat race Mid-Autumn Festival 15 th day of the 8 th lunar month Moon cake dead

Warm-up Activities 2. The Origin of Traditional Chinese Festival Traditional Chinese festivals has been scheduled according to the traditional Chinese calendric ([kæ lendrik] 日历的, 历法的)system.

The traditional Chinese Calendric System The traditional Chinese calendric system is a combination of the solar system and the lunar system, which is known as nongli, the agricultural calendar. The basic principle of nongli is, a month is a period as long as a complete moon change cycle, and a year is a period approximately as long as a solar year. Whenever necessary, a leap month is added. According to this system, 24 jieqi (24 seasonal periods or solar terms indicating the obvious changes of weather when they come around) are designed to guide agricultural activities, so the system is commonly known as the agricultural calendar(农历), and it is also known as zhong calendar(中历), summer calendar(夏历) and lunar calendar(阴历).

The traditional Chinese Calendric System Generally speaking, the ancient Chinese calendar divides a year into four seasons(季), 24 jieqi（节气）, 72 hou（候）, 360 days（天）. To be more specific, a day consists of 12 double hours (shichen时辰); five days make up a hou, so there are 72 hou in a year; three hou make up a jieqi, so a year has 24 jieqi; two jieqi make up a month, so a year has 12 months; three months make up a season, and four seasons make up a year. The four seasons, the eight jieqi, the Heavenly Stems(天干) and the Earthly Branches(地支) are all important factors in the forming of Chinese festivals.

The traditional Chinese Calendric System The four seasons refer to spring, summer, autumn and winter. According to the lunar calendar, the first three months make up spring, the next three summer, the following three autumn, and the last three winter. Each season is subdivided into three equally long periods, namely early (meng孟), middle (zhong仲) and late (ji季). For instance, early spring refers to the first month, middle spring the second month, and late spring the third month.

The traditional Chinese Calendric System The first eight jieqi refer to the earliest designated and the most important eight seasonal periods. Since ancient times, China has always attached great importance to seasonal timing, which is closely related to agricultural activities. As early as in the Zhou Dynasty, the first eight jieqi were defined, namely, the Beginning of Spring, the Spring Equinox( 春分), the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice （夏至）, the Beginning of Autumn, the Autumn Equinox, the Beginning of Winter and the Winter Solstice. During the Qin Dynasty, all 24 jieqi were defined.

The traditional Chinese Calendric System Whenever two jieqi meet, a festival comes. Along with the designation of 24 jieqi, many festivals came into being. Up till now, there are still some festivals closely related to jieqi, for example, people now still celebrate the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the Beginning of Winter and the Winter Solstice. Today some jieqi-related festivals have evolved into traditional festivals.

节气(24 seasonal periods or solar terms)

Spring Festival China’s most important festival falls on the 1 st day of the 1 st lunar month each year. Family members gather just as they do for Christmas in the West. In fact, with so many people returning home, it is the busiest time for transportation systems.

Its Origin Spring Festival is also called guonian, which means keeping the monster Nian away. There are many legends about the origin of Nian. A popular legend from ancient times described Nian as a fierce monster resembling a bull with a lion’s head. During winter, when food was scarce Nian would leave his mountain lair (兽穴) to eat local villagers or drive them from their homes.

Tell the Story of Nian (student)

Preliminary Year (Xiaonian ) The 23 rd day of the 12 th lunar month is Preliminary Year. Sacrifices are offered to the Kitchen God with families sharing delicious food followed by preparations for the coming Spring Festival.

Foods, decorations, new clothes and shoes for children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives are prepared. Houses are thoroughly cleaned.

Spring Festival Couplets These are Chinese good luck proverbs on red paper, often with golden trimming and are usually about happiness, wealth, longevity , and a satisfactory marriage, including more children.

Spring Festival Eve Houses are brightly lit and a large sumptuous family dinner is served.

Dishes such as chicken, fish and tofu must be included, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively Ji, yu and doufu, mean “auspicious, abundant and blessed”.

Niangao means “higher and higher, one year after another. ” Jiaozi, or dumpling, means “bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new” ( 辞旧迎新)

The Spring Festival Gala In recent years, the Spring Festival Gala, broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV), lasting 5 to 6 hours has been an essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad.

New Year During the first five days of the Spring Festival, relatives, friends, classmates and colleagues exchange greetings and gifts by visiting, calling or sending messages. Telephones lines and cables are busily engaged on these days.

Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival, celebrated on the 15 th day of the first lunar month, is closely related to the Spring Festival. It marks the end of the New Year celebrations, following which life returns to normal. The most prominent activity of the Lantern Festival is the grand display of beautiful lanterns.

Guessing Riddles Guessing riddles pasted onto lanterns is a Lantern Festival tradition from the Song Dynasty. Visitors who solve a riddle may get prizes.

Yuanxiao Also called tangyuan. They are small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour with sesame (芝麻), bean paste, jujube paste (枣泥), walnut meat (核桃肉), dried fruit, or sugar and edible oil as filling. What's more, tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation to “tuanyuan”, meaning reunion.

Qingming Festival The Qingming Festival (or Pure Brightness Festival) is a day for mourning (哀悼) the dead. It is one of the 24 seasonal division points (二十四节气 划分) in the lunar calendar, falling on April 4 th-6 th each year. After the festival, the temperature rises and rainfall increases in readiness for spring plowing (春耕) and sowing.

Hanshi Day (寒食) Hanshi Day (or Cold Food Day) is the day before Qingming Festival, when no fire or smoke is allowed and people only eat cold food. 寒食 [唐]韩翃 春城无处不飞花， 寒食东风御柳斜。 日暮汉官传蜡烛， 轻烟散入五侯家。

Tell the Story of Jie Zitui

A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival Zhang Zeduan (张择端) of the Song Dynasty produced one of China’s most famous works of art: A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. There are more than 500 people in the painting, as well as scores of (许多) different animals, carriages and sedan chairs (轿子), and bridges and boats. It is a vivid record of the festivities and hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of the Qingming Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5 th day of the 5 th lunar month.

Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)

Dragon Boat Racing Competition is an indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country. Teams in dragon-shaped boats row in time to the beat of rapid drums.

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15 th day of the 8 th lunar month, usually in October. The round shape to a Chinese means family reunion, therefore the Mid. Autumn Festival is most romanticized in China as a day of family reunion and a festival with friends.

Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)

Appreciation of Some Famous Lines I raised my head, the splendid moon I see; Then droop my head and sink to dreams of my hometown. (举头望明月， 低头思故 乡) My one wish for you, then , is long life; And a share in this loveliness(the moon) far, far away. (但愿人长久， 千里共婵娟)

Double Ninth Festival The Double Ninth Festival or Chongyang Festival is celebrated on the 9 th day of the 9 th lunar month. It usually falls in October. Double Ninth Festival can also be called Height Ascending Festival (登高节) when people customarily climb mountains or towers, bringing along chrysanthemum wine (菊花酒).

Tell the Story of Its Origin (student)

Double Ninth Festival In 1989, the Chinese government designated (指定 ) Double Ninth Festival as Seniors' Day (老人节) as nine is the highest odd number and two nines are taken to signify longevity. Since then, the Double Ninth Festival has become a day of loving and respecting the aged nationwide.

Other traditional festivals Double Seventh Festival Laba (腊八) and the Eight-Treasure Porridge

Double Seventh Festival The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7 th day of the 7 th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It often falls on a day in August. It has been regarded as China’s Valentine's Day.

Tell the Story of the Legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Maid (student)

Laba and the Eight-Treasure Porridge Laba is celebrated on the 8 th day of the 12 th lunar month. The 12 th lunar month is called the La month, which means a world of ice and snow. Ba means eight. The 8 th day of that month was considered a day for making sacrifices to gods and ancestors to ensure a peaceful life and a good harvest in the next year.

Laba Porridge Also called the Eight-Treasure Porridge. The main materials usually consist of beans like red beans, mung beans (绿豆), cowpeas (豇 豆), haricots (扁豆), peas and broad beans, and grain like rice, millet (小米), polished roundgrained rice, glutinous rice, wheat, oat, corn and broomcorn (高粱).

Ethnic Festivals China is a multi-ethnic country where festivals and celebrations vary from one ethnic group to another.

Water Splashing Festival is the Dai’s New Year, as well as the most important traditional festival observed by the Dai people in China’s Yunnan province.

Nadam Fair is a traditional festival observed by the Mongolian people who inhabit Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. The festival is celebrated in July or August when the pastures have plenty of water, lush grass, thriving herds, and fine weather. The festive celebration lasts for one to eight days.

Torch Festival is a traditional festival of the Yi, Bai, Lisu, Naxi, and some other ethinic groups inhabiting southwest China. It falls around the 24 th of the 6 th lunar month.

People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But one traditional custom has definitely been shared by all the Chinese. This is eating moon cakes. The moon cake is the ubiquitous fare at any celebration of this traditional festival, not only because of its delicious and sweet taste, but also for the cultural and artistic connotation. The moon cake symbolizes the reunions of families. The exchange of gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the hospitable customs. Nowadays, moon cakes with their various flavors and delicate packaging

Discussion Why do you think young people in China are increasingly interested in celebrating some western festivals nowadays?

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