There are many festivals celebrated in China each year, both traditional ones and state-appointed national holidays. A few important traditional ones are:
· Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year
The Spring Festival is the most important and most celebrated festival for Chinese and also for nearby Asian countries. It is on the 1st day on Chinese lunar calendar, often 1-2 months after the New Year day on Gregorian calendar that western countries follow. The history of this festival dated back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) and originated from the people's sacrifice ceremonies to the heaven and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. The festivities of the celebrations for Spring Festival typically last for days or even weeks in China. The character of “Fu” for Fortune, shown above, can be seen almost on every door of Chinese houses.
· Qingming Festival
It’s on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month, usually around April 4th or 5th. This is a festival for commemoration, cleaning ancestors' graves and holding memorial ceremonies which came from the ancient sacrifice traditions. It’s also a time for spring outing and flying kites.
A very good introduction can be read from the link below under Related Information.
· Mid-autumn Festival or Moon-cake Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the lunar 8th month- on which day, according to Chinese lunar calendar, the moon should be the fullest and brightest of the whole year. It also has very long history. At ancient times, this season was a time for celebrating the harvest and abundance. Nowadays it becomes a holiday for family reunions -family and friends gathering together to eat moon-cakes which enjoying the bright full moon. Moon-cake has always been a traditional Chinese delicacy.
Related Information:
1. Chinese Festival introduction by China.org.cn