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Festivals
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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. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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China |