Festivals
The rhythm of festivals and religious observances that marked
the Chinese year was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, and
only now are old traditions beginning to re-emerge. Apart from
countrywide Chinese festivals, the ethnic minorities punctuate the
year with their own ritual observances, and these are detailed in
the appropriate chapters in the Guide. In Hong Kong all the
national Chinese festivals are celebrated.
Most festivals take place on dates in the Chinese lunar
calendar , in which the first day of the month is the time when
the moon is at its thinnest, with the full moon marking the middle
of the month. So, by the Gregorian calendar, such festivals are on
a different day every year. Most festivals celebrate the turning of
the seasons or propitious dates, such as the eighth day of
the eighth month (eight is a lucky number in China), and are times
for gift giving, family reunion and feasting. In the countryside,
lanterns are lit and firecrackers (banned in the cities) are set
off. It's always worth visiting temples on festival days,
when the air is thick with incense, and people queue up to kowtow
to altars and play games that bring good fortune, such as trying to
hit the temple bell with thrown coins.
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