Festivals
The Dragon Boat Festival
The Lantern Festival
A celebration of the first full moon of the year and the birthday of Tianguan, a god that brings good fortune. People walk with lanterns and release red lanterns into the sky at different places. They eat "Tangyuan", which is a dumpling filled with sweets and rice. It is known to symbolize family unity and happiness.
Dragon Boat Festival
The festival originated from the Zhou Dynasty for Qu Yuan, who was a poet and a statesman. He supported peace and justice on court and advised the Zhou emperor to avoid going to war with Qin, a feudal state. However, this idea was disregarded and soon Qu Yuan was put into exile. When the Qin overthrew the Zhou, Qu Yuan jumped into the Milou River as an act of showing his despair. Afterwards, fishermen paddled out to the sea to honor his "death" by throwing rice balls, zongzi, into the river so that the fish wouldn't eat his body. In the modern days, this day is still celebrated by eating zongzi and engaging in boat activities.
Chinese New Year
The main religious holiday in China. People burn paper statues of gods so they can fly up into the sky and report on their families actions for the year. This holiday is for informing their progress to the heavens by using spirits from burning paper.
Hungry Ghost Festival
On this day, hungry ghosts that did not receive a proper funeral are released form the underground. By making offerings, saying prayers, and entertaining with musical events, people try to claim the ghosts.
A celebration of the first full moon of the year and the birthday of Tianguan, a god that brings good fortune. People walk with lanterns and release red lanterns into the sky at different places. They eat "Tangyuan", which is a dumpling filled with sweets and rice. It is known to symbolize family unity and happiness.
Dragon Boat Festival
The festival originated from the Zhou Dynasty for Qu Yuan, who was a poet and a statesman. He supported peace and justice on court and advised the Zhou emperor to avoid going to war with Qin, a feudal state. However, this idea was disregarded and soon Qu Yuan was put into exile. When the Qin overthrew the Zhou, Qu Yuan jumped into the Milou River as an act of showing his despair. Afterwards, fishermen paddled out to the sea to honor his "death" by throwing rice balls, zongzi, into the river so that the fish wouldn't eat his body. In the modern days, this day is still celebrated by eating zongzi and engaging in boat activities.
Chinese New Year
The main religious holiday in China. People burn paper statues of gods so they can fly up into the sky and report on their families actions for the year. This holiday is for informing their progress to the heavens by using spirits from burning paper.
Hungry Ghost Festival
On this day, hungry ghosts that did not receive a proper funeral are released form the underground. By making offerings, saying prayers, and entertaining with musical events, people try to claim the ghosts.
