49 Fun Facts About Chinese Festivals

Why do families avoid using brooms on Chinese New Year's Day?

Luck could be swept away, so families give the house a thorough clean before New Year to clear out the old year's bad luck, then leave the brooms alone.

Which food is eaten at the Duanwu, or Double Fifth, holiday?

Zongzi were traditionally wrapped at home for the festival, but today most people buy them ready-made from shops and restaurants, and only some families still make their own.

Which game is traditionally tried at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival?

Standing an egg on its end at noon was one of several festival customs believed to keep disease and evil away, along with bathing in herbal water.

Dragon boat races most famously honour which poet and minister of the state of Chu?

Qu Yuan was exiled by his king and drowned himself when Qin took Chu's capital, though some regions honour other heroes, such as Wu Zixu, instead.

In which river did Qu Yuan drown himself?

The Miluo River is where locals are said to have paddled out to save the poet or recover his body, the tale often given as the origin of dragon boat racing.

In legend, why did people throw rice into the water after the poet of Chu drowned?

To distract fish from his body, the story goes, rice was thrown in while others beat drums and splashed their paddles to scare the fish away.

Before Chinese New Year, which household deity is said to report on each family to the Jade Emperor?

The Kitchen God is offered candy and other sweets before he leaves, so that he reports only good things about the household.

What is the official English name used in Hong Kong for the Dragon Boat Festival?

Tuen Ng brings a dip for some in Hong Kong: water the dragon boats have raced through is thought to be blessed, so people swim in it for luck and good health.

Realgar wine, drunk at the Double Fifth, is dosed with what mineral?

Arsenic sulfide is a poison, yet people drank the wine and painted children's foreheads with it, believing it drove off poisonous creatures and evil.

Which plants were hung above doors at Duanwu to ward off evil?

Calamus and mugwort give off strong scents that repel insects, and the calamus plant's sword-shaped leaves were believed to keep evil spirits away.

What is the Qingming Festival commonly called in English?

Tomb-Sweeping Day sends families to tidy ancestors' graves and leave offerings, yet it is also a favourite time for spring outings as the weather warms.

Which pastime is a Qingming tradition?

Flying kites at Qingming comes with a twist: some people cut the string and let the kite drift away, believing it carries off illness and brings good luck.

At Qingming, which tree's branches are traditionally worn or hung on doors to ward off evil?

Willow branches were said to keep wandering spirits away, since legend holds that the dead may return to earth at Qingming and not all of them are welcome.

In legend, the Cold Food Festival, which shaped Qingming, honoured a loyal nobleman who died how?

Burned in a forest fire, in the usual legend, Jie Zitui died when his duke set fire to the woods to flush him out, and the remorseful duke banned lighting fires on that day.

Unlike most Chinese festivals, what sets the date of Qingming?

A solar term fixes Qingming, the fifth of 24 in the traditional calendar, and it signals warmer weather and the time for spring ploughing and sowing.

In Taiwan, the Qingming holiday once also marked the death anniversary of which leader?

Chiang Kai-shek died on the night of Qingming in 1975, so the government tied the anniversary of his death to the holiday each year, a pairing scrapped decades later.

The Lantern Festival celebrates the lunar year's first what?

Full moon night, the 15th of the first lunar month, brings the New Year celebrations to a close with lanterns, lion dances and fireworks.

What do crowds traditionally do with the lanterns at the Lantern Festival?

Solve riddles on them correctly and the lantern's owner hands over a small gift, a game that has been part of the festival since the Song dynasty.

What glutinous rice balls are eaten at the Lantern Festival?

Tangyuan, called yuanxiao in northern China, are eaten as a round shape that stands for family reunion and unity.

In legend, why did villagers hang lanterns when the Jade Emperor planned to burn their village?

To make it look ablaze, villagers who had killed the Jade Emperor's favourite bird lit lanterns everywhere, and the fooled emperor spared them.

The Double Ninth is a statutory holiday in Hong Kong under what name?

Chung Yeung is a public holiday in Hong Kong, yet in mainland China the same festival brings no day off at all.

Which activity is customary on the Double Ninth Festival?

Climbing a mountain on that day was believed to keep disease and disaster away, a custom that legend traces back to the Eastern Han dynasty.

Which plant did people traditionally wear at the Double Ninth to dispel disaster?

Dogwood, in legend, stopped a plague demon in its tracks with its scent, giving a hero the moment he needed to kill it with his sword.

Why is the ninth day of the ninth month considered auspicious?

Nine is a yang number, and with nine as both the month and the day the yang counts double, so people long ago judged the date worth celebrating.

In mainland China, the Double Ninth Festival doubles as a day for honouring whom?

The elderly are honoured partly because nine, jiu, sounds like the Chinese word for long-lasting, which ties the date to a long life.

The Double Ninth is known in Japan as the festival of which flower?

Chrysanthemum petals are added to the sake people drink at Japan's Chōyō festival, in the hope that it will bring them a long and healthy life.

The Qixi Festival celebrates the annual meeting of which mythical couple?

Weaver girl and cowherd married without heaven's permission, until heaven took her back and parted them with a river of stars.

Which birds form the bridge that lets the Qixi lovers meet?

Magpies were so moved by the couple's love that they flew up to form a bridge, and heaven, touched as well, let the pair meet on it once a year.

In the Qixi legend, the two separated lovers are identified with which two stars?

Vega and Altair sit on either side of the Milky Way, and on Qixi night people traditionally looked up at the two stars.

Which Japanese festival was inspired by Qixi?

Tanabata sees people write wishes on strips of paper and hang them on bamboo, and some regions still hold it in August, following the old calendar.

Qixi is often described as the Chinese equivalent of which Western holiday?

Valentine's Day is the usual comparison, since Qixi celebrates a pair of star-crossed lovers, and girls once held contests to thread needles by moonlight.

What is believed to open at the start of Ghost Month, freeing ghosts to roam?

The gates of hell are said to open on the first day of the seventh lunar month, so families leave out food to appease the hungry ghosts roaming among the living.

During the Ghost Festival month, which activity do many people avoid?

Swimming is avoided because ghosts freed from hell roam the earth that month, and many people also avoid going out alone after dark.

In the Buddhist legend behind the Ghost Festival, whom did a disciple find reborn as a hungry ghost?

His mother was suffering endless hunger, and the Buddha's advice to free her through a communal offering involving the monks began the festival's tradition of offerings.

At Ghost Festival performances, why is the front row of seats left empty?

For the spirits to sit in, organisers keep those seats free, since the loud shows are put on to entertain the wandering spirits as much as the living.

What is burned as offerings to visiting spirits during Ghost Month?

Joss paper is burned as make-believe money, clothes and even luxury goods, so that the spirits have things to spend and use in the afterlife.

What is the signature food of the Laba Festival?

Congee for Laba mixes many kinds of rice, beans, nuts and dried fruit, and people believe the thick porridge keeps them healthy through the cold winter.

Laba's fixed date was chosen to coincide with which event?

The Buddha's enlightenment came on that day, legend says, after years of harsh self-denial, so many of the festival's customs have Buddhist roots.

Laba garlic is made by soaking garlic in what?

Vinegar turns the cloves green, a colour garlic processors treat as a defect but Laba garlic needs.

The Dongzhi Festival marks which astronomical event?

Winter solstice brings the year's longest night, and the festival celebrates the fact that from then on the days start to grow longer again.

In the Dongzhi legend, a Han dynasty doctor's dumplings were meant to protect which body part?

Ears were what the doctor set out to heal among the poor, wrapping meat and medicine in dough, and families still eat dumplings on the day.

Which Beijing landmark did emperors use for their Dongzhi rites?

The Temple of Heaven is where emperors went at Dongzhi to worship heaven, believing the rite would bring a good harvest in the coming year.

Which tonic dishes do many Taiwanese favour at Dongzhi?

Mutton hot pot and ginger duck are eaten as warming tonics, since many Taiwanese believe such dishes fight off the cold and restore the body's strength.

Under which president was Chinese New Year renamed the Spring Festival, in 1914?

Yuan Shikai was then president of the young Republic of China, and the name adopted under him is still the official one in mainland China today.

In legend, which mythical beast did red decorations and loud noises drive away at Chinese New Year?

The Nian never came back, so villagers kept up the red decorations and firecrackers every year, and they remain New Year customs today.

Which fruit is traditionally avoided as a Chinese New Year gift?

Pears are avoided because the Chinese word for them sounds like the word for parting, while oranges are among the fruits people welcome.

What is the Mid-Autumn Festival's signature pastry?

Mooncakes are usually round, a shape tied to completeness and family reunion, and people traditionally give them as gifts to relatives and friends.

Which goddess is at the heart of the Mid-Autumn Festival legend?

In the best-known telling, Chang'e swallowed the elixir of immortality when a man tried to force her to hand it over, and she flew up and away from the earth.

Which holiday's week-long break ended when mainland China made Qingming a holiday?

May Day shrank from a Golden Week to a three-day break, and the Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn festivals joined Qingming as new public holidays.