Upcoming Chinese Festivals
Chinese Teacher's Day - 中国教师节
September 10th is the Teachers’ Day in China. This day was officially created in 1985 to improve teachers' social status in China and call on the entire nation to respect teachers and to seek knowledge. On January 21st 1985, the Chinese government formally decided to fix September 10th of every year as the Teachers’ Day in China as a way of encouraging the society to respect teachers who were then severely underpaid.
教师节快乐!jiao shi jie kuai le
Jiao shi is a teacher or a mentor.
Jie is a festival or a holiday.
Kuai Le is happiness or joy.
In the United States, Teacher's Day is a non-official holiday celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. The National Education Association (NEA) describes National Teacher Day as "a day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives."
In China, Teacher's Day is celebrated on September 10. It is one of three holidays established for professionals. The other two are for nurses and news reporters.
教师节快乐!jiao shi jie kuai le
Jiao shi is a teacher or a mentor.
Jie is a festival or a holiday.
Kuai Le is happiness or joy.
In the United States, Teacher's Day is a non-official holiday celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. The National Education Association (NEA) describes National Teacher Day as "a day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives."
In China, Teacher's Day is celebrated on September 10. It is one of three holidays established for professionals. The other two are for nurses and news reporters.
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival 中国中秋节
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Zhongqiu Festival 中秋节; pinyin: Zhōngqiūjié,is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival") in the Zhou Dynasty.
In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the fall harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos under the moon together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the fall harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos under the moon together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
- Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns.
- Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e (Chinese: 嫦娥; pinyin: Cháng'é)
- Erect the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is not about planting trees but hanging lanterns on the bamboo pole and putting them on a high point, such as roofs, trees, terraces, etc. It is a custom in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, etc.
- Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members.
- Fire Dragon Dances