There are three major festivals being celebrated and observed by Chinese people living in China and Chinese communities throughout the world. These are Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Clear and Bright Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival), and Mid-Autumn Festival. Out of these three festivals, Spring Festival is the most important one. The key feature of these festivals is for families to get-together and re-unite through ceremonies and eating together.
1. Spring Festival (Chūn jié or 春节, also known as Chinese New Year）
The date of the Spring Festival varies each year, as it is calculated using the lunar calendar. However, it usually falls in late January and February.
For an introduction to Chinese New Year click here to see a presentation and accompanying student work booklet created by Anglo European School.
The Legend of Nian – this resource covers the legend behind celebrating Chinese New Year. Characters are accompanied by pinyin for reading, along with English translation. Created by Anglo European School.
Chinese New Year and the Legend of Nian presentation – this presentation was created by Anglo European School for a school assembly on Chinese New Year.
Please also see the following PowerPoint presentations about celebrating Spring Festival in Guangzhou:
Spring Festival in Guangzhou Lesson 1 (PPT)
Spring Festival in Guangzhou Lesson 2 (PPT)
Spring Festival in Guangzhou Lesson 3 (PPT)
Character Randometer Game – Spring Festival in Guangzhou(PPT)
2. Clear and Bright Festival ( Qīng Míng Jié, also known as Tomb sweeping festival, 清明节)
The Clear and Bright Festival takes place on April 5th of each year. It involves commemorating ancestors of the family through sweeping and clearing overgrown grass on ancestral tombs.
Tomb Sweeping Festival PPT, by Stefanie Behrens, Mandarin Teacher at The Belvedere Academy in Liverpool.
3. Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhōng Qiū Jié or 中秋节）
The date of the Mid-Autumn Festival, again as Spring Festival, is calculated using the lunar calendar. It usually falls in September of each year. One key feature is eating a special cake called ‘Moon Cake’.
Mid-Autumn Festival video – this YouTube video introduces vocabulary related to Mid-Autumn Festival.
