How many Chinese traditional festivals Brainstorm How many Chinese traditional festivals do you know? Lantern Festival (元宵节） Dragon Boat Festival（端午节） Spring Festival （春节） Chinese traditional festival Tomb-sweeping Festival (清明节） Double Ninth Festival （重阳节） Mid-autumn Festival （中秋节） Qi Xi Festival （七夕节）

Part One The Spring Festival & Christmas

Do you know the origin of the Spring Festival? Celebrate the New Year. The Spring festival is also known as the Chinese New Year, which is the most important traditional festival in China. It falls on the first day of the first Chinese lunar month .

Origin In ancient time, a demon(怪物） called “Nian” that lived under the sea would hurt people once a year on the new year eve. It jumped out from the sea, attacked villages, devoured（吞食） people, animals and plants. Demon Nian

Origin The villagers gathered to discuss how to deal with “Nian” .Some people suggested that the demon was afraid of loud noises, red color and flames. Fireworks Dragon dance

Origin So they lighted firecrackers, put on red couplets (对联）on their gates, beat gongs (锣）and drums to drive “Nian” away. Since then, the custom and tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival were born.

Customs 1. Spring Cleaning Do you know the customs in the Spring Festival ? 1. Spring Cleaning From December 23rd in the Chinese calendar, people begin to clean their house to bid farewell（say goodbye） to the old year and usher in （宣告来临）a happy and fresh new year.

Customs 2. Write and paste couplets(对联) on doors

Customs 3.The lion and dragon dancing

It is said that the evil spirits can be frightened to run away. Customs 4.Set off fireworks It is said that the evil spirits can be frightened to run away.

Customs 5. Receive Gift Money Children get money in red paper or envelop from their parents or relatives.

Customs 恭喜发财！红包拿来！ 6. Greet each other

Dumplings (饺子) 2. New Year cake (年糕) It means in Chinese the beginning of the new year. Do you know the food in the Spring Festival? Dumplings (饺子) 2. New Year cake (年糕) It means abundance(富足） and wealth for household(一家人).

Food 3. Whole fish (鱼) “Fish” in Chinese language is pronounced as “Yu”. It sounds like “余”. “年年有余”means togetherness and abundance（富足）.

Part Two Qi Xi Festival

Origin The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. It is also called Chinese Valentine’s Day, Qi Qiao Jie（七巧节）, the Daughter’s Festival（女儿节）. It is important day for girls.

Origin A handsome but poor orphan who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents passed away, the boy’s brother inherited the house and the land. But all he had was an old ox.

Origin As a cowherd, the boy had to work the farm fields and talked with his ox. With the ox’s help, the cowherd fell in love with the Emperor’s seventh daughter, Weaving Maid. Weaving Maid was good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothes. They soon had two children two years later.

Origin However, the emperor missed the beautiful skies once woven by Weaving Maid. He ordered his daughter’s grandmother to find her and bring back to him.

Origin As Weaving Maid was flying to heaven with her grandmother, the cowherd put on his ox’s hide（皮） and put their children into two bamboo baskets laced with（系上） his wife’s magical fairy clothes to chase after his love.

Origin But the grandmother created a milky way（银河） in the sky to keep the lovers apart. They could meet each other once in a year on the day of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month.

Origin Therefore, it is hard to find magpies （喜鹊）on Chinese Valentine’s Day in China, because all magpies fly to make the bridge for the Weaving Maid and Cowherd.

Customs 1. Overhear the Maid crying It is said that under the grape-wine, you could probably hear the crying of Weaving Maid.

Customs 2. Five-colored Ribbons Girls throw the ribbons on the roof so than magpie(喜鹊）can use them to build a bridge.

Symbols 1. Needle work

Symbols 2. Blossom water(花瓣水） On the Chinese Valentine’s day, girls would put blossoms into a copper basin of water, which could absorb the essence of blossoms and do good to girls’ skin.

Part Three Tomb-sweeping Day

Origin Tomb-sweeping Day is a time to remember the dead and the dearly departed. More important, it is a period to honor and to pay respect to one’s deceased（亡故的） ancestors and family members. It falls in early spring. “Qing Ming” literally means “Clear Brightness”.

Origin It is popularly associated with Jie Zi-tui（介子推）, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Jie saved his starving lord’s life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small country, he invited his faithful follower to join him.

Origin However, Jie declined his invitation, preferring to lead a hermit’s life with his mother in the mountains. Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. But Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death.

Origin To commemorate Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put on the anniversary of Jie’s death. Thus began the “cold food feast”（寒食节）, a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit. the “cold food” festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival.

Customs 1. Visit the graves of the ancestors 2. Sweep the ashes on the tomb

To breathe the fresh air and enjoy the scenery. Customs 3. Go to the suburb (Ta Qing) To breathe the fresh air and enjoy the scenery.

Other Names 1. All Souls’ Day 2. Clear Brightness Festival 3. Festival for Tending Graves 4. Grave Sweeping Day

Part Four Double Ninth Festival

Origin The Double-Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month and has a history of more than 1,700 years.

Origin The festival is based on the theory of Yin(阴） and Yang（阳）, the two opposing principles in nature. Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and positive.

Origin Among Chinese numbers, 1,3,5,7,9 are positive numbers and 2,4,6, 8 are negative ones.

Origin Thus, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month is called Double-Positive or Double-Nine.

Customs 1. Climb the mountains(登高） 2. Admire chrysanthemums（赏菊）

Customs 3. Visit the Old Men House (看望老人）

Food 1.Chrysanthemums tea（菊花茶） 2.Chrysanthemums wine （菊花酒） 3. Double-Ninth cake（重阳糕）

Other Names 1. Seniors’ day 2. Height Ascending Festival