Festivals 节日 節日
The traditional calendar is lunisolar, so most festivals fall on a fixed lunar date and drift against the Western calendar from year to year — though a few, like Qingming and the Winter Solstice, follow the solar calendar and land on a near-fixed Western date. These are the ones most widely celebrated in China and Taiwan.
- 春节 春節 Chūn jié ceon1 zit3
Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), the first day of the first lunar month, is the most important holiday of the year — a time for family reunions, red decorations and lucky money.
Next: Feb 6, 2027
Dishes: Chinese New Year
- 元宵节 元宵節 Yuán xiāo jié jyun4 siu1 zit3
The Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, closes the New Year period with lanterns, riddles and the first full moon of the year.
Next: Feb 20, 2027
Dishes: Lantern Festival
- 清明节 清明節 Qīng míng jié cing1 ming4 zit3
Qingming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls in early April. Families tend ancestral graves and enjoy the first green of spring.
Next: Apr 5, 2027
Dishes: Qingming Festival
- 端午节 端午節 Duān wǔ jié dyun1 ng5 zit3
The Dragon Boat Festival, on the fifth of the fifth lunar month, remembers the poet Qu Yuan with dragon-boat races and sticky-rice dumplings.
Next: Jun 9, 2027
Dishes: Dragon Boat Festival
- 中秋节 中秋節 Zhōng qiū jié zung1 cau1 zit3
The Mid-Autumn Festival, on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, celebrates the harvest moon — families gather to admire the full moon and share mooncakes.
Next: Sep 15, 2027
Dishes: Mid-Autumn Festival
- 腊八节 臘八節 là bā jié laap6 baat3 zit3
Laba, on the eighth of the twelfth lunar month, marks the run-up to New Year; temples and families share a warming porridge of grains, beans and dried fruit.
Next: Jan 15, 2027
Dishes: Laba Festival
- 重阳节 重陽節 Chóng yáng jié cung4 joeng4 zit3
The Double Ninth Festival, on the ninth of the ninth lunar month, is a day to climb to high places and honour the elderly; in Taiwan it is also Senior Citizens’ Day.
Next: Oct 8, 2027
- 七夕 Qī xī cat1 zik6
Qixi, on the seventh of the seventh lunar month, tells the love story of the cowherd and the weaver girl, reunited once a year across the Milky Way — often called Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Next: Aug 8, 2027
- 冬至 Dōng zhì dung1 zi3
The Winter Solstice, around 21–22 December, is the shortest day. Families gather to eat tangyuan in the south and dumplings in the north.
Next: Dec 22, 2026