Customs & Festivals — Discover China

Nadam = the grandest traditional sports and entertainment event of the Mongolian people (July-August each year). In Mongolian, "Nadam" means game or entertainment. Three competitions (the Three Skills of Mongolian Men): ① Wrestling (Bökh) — no weight classes! A small person can challenge a giant, with hundreds to thousands of participants, wearing special wrestling vests (Zodog), and the champion receives the title "Darkhan Bökh" (lifetime honor) ② Archery — traditional horn bows, open to both men and women ③ Horse racing — Mongolian horses are short, stocky, and highly endurance-capable, and riders are mostly children (lighter weight makes horses faster). In addition, there are performances and competitions such as Mongolian chess, Bökhe (throwing), and lassoing horses. The largest Nadam is in Xilingol League (Inner Mongolia) and is a national-level intangible cultural heritage; there are also local Nadams in various townships and villages. Tourists can — watch the various competitions (free or tickets costing a few dozen yuan), experience yurt accommodation + boiled mutton + milk tea, try horseback riding and archery (tourist version), and buy Mongolian handicrafts. During Nadam, the cooking smoke from yurts does not stop from morning to night — hosts must treat all arriving guests with milk tea and boiled mutton; this is the Mongolian way of hospitality.

The Third Day of the Third Lunar Month / Shangsi Festival — China's oldest Valentine's Day + spring outing festival. During the pre-Qin period, on the Shangsi day of the third month (later fixed as the third day of the third lunar month), people went to the waterside to bathe and perform purification rituals (bathing in water infused with fragrant herbs to ward off misfortune and illness — an ancient epidemic-prevention ceremony). Later it evolved into spring outings, floating wine cups along a winding stream (a cup of wine floated downstream and stopped before whoever it stopped before had to compose a poem and drink — Wang Xizhi's "Lantingji Xu" was written in exactly such a setting), and courtship between men and women (in ancient society, a rare day of free socializing for young men and women). The Third Day of the Third Month is especially important among ethnic minorities: Guangxi Zhuang — the Third Day of the Third Month is the most important festival for the Zhuang people, with two days of holiday across the whole region, song festivals (men and women singing antiphonal mountain songs to express affection through song), and eating five-color glutinous rice. Guangxi's Third Day of the Third Month attracts millions of tourists every year. In Hainan, the Li/Miao people also have a holiday on the Third Day of the Third Month. Japan's Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri) also originates from China's Shangsi Festival on the Third Day of the Third Month. Nowadays the Third Day of the Third Month is not taken very seriously in Han Chinese areas (except for literati holding Lanting gatherings), but in the ethnic minority areas of Guangxi/Hainan/Guizhou, the Third Day of the Third Month remains a super grand festival.

Laba (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) = the prelude to Spring Festival. Laba porridge = whole grains and mixed beans (glutinous rice/red beans/mung beans/peanuts/lotus seeds/red dates/longan/Job's tears/walnuts/chestnuts—at least eight kinds, the more the better) boiled together until soft, mushy, and thick. Laba porridge has two traditional origins: ① Buddhism—the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day of Shakyamuni's enlightenment (before attaining enlightenment under the bodhi tree, Shakyamuni drank a milk-rice porridge offered by a shepherd girl and recovered his strength); major temples distribute porridge on Laba (people line up at temples for free Laba porridge, and many go at midnight to queue). Beijing's Yonghe Temple cooks several tons of porridge every Laba and gives it out for free. ② Folk tradition—Laba porridge = a symbol of a bumper harvest of the five grains; drinking Laba porridge is a prayer for a good harvest in the coming year. The first bowl of the cooked Laba porridge must first be offered to the ancestors, and then it is exchanged with neighbors (it must not be eaten only by one's own family—giving Laba porridge to neighbors is an important custom). Soaking Laba garlic—garlic soaked in vinegar, sealed until New Year's Eve and then opened; the garlic turns emerald green (the vinegar absorbs the garlic's pungency, and dipping dumplings in it is superb). Once Laba is over, it's New Year—"Child, child, don't be greedy; once Laba is past, it's New Year."

Winter Solstice = the earliest solar term to be established among the 24 solar terms (during the Spring and Autumn period, the winter solstice was determined by observing the sun's shadow with a earth gnomon). In ancient times, the winter solstice was the most important solar term of the year—the Zhou Dynasty took the winter solstice as the beginning of the year (the winter solstice was the first day of the new year). Hence the saying "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year." The emperor would offer sacrifices to Heaven on the winter solstice (the Temple of Heaven in Beijing was the site where Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven on the winter solstice). Winter solstice foods differ greatly between the north and the south: in the north, dumplings (if you don't hold a bowl of dumplings on the winter solstice, no one will care if your ears freeze off—it is said to come from the legend of Zhang Zhongjing using mutton dumplings to treat frostbite); in the south, tangyuan (eating tangyuan on the winter solstice adds a year to your age); in Sichuan, mutton soup (on the winter solstice, Sichuan people must drink mutton soup, and long lines form at the doors of mutton soup restaurants); in Jiangnan, red bean glutinous rice (red color wards off evil); in Guangdong, glutinous rice cakes + cured meat rice (the winter solstice is second only to the Spring Festival in importance to Cantonese people); in Minnan, rolling yuanzai on the winter solstice (the whole family rolls tangyuan together, red ones + white ones, a fun parent-child activity). The winter solstice is the day with the shortest daylight of the year—after the winter solstice, the daylight grows longer day by day, yang energy begins to rise again, and the ancients considered it the turning point of "the return of a single yang."

On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head—spring returns to the earth, and the hibernating dragon awakens and lifts its head, beginning the year's work of gathering clouds and bringing rain. Core customs: ① Getting a "dragon head" haircut—on the second day of the second lunar month, barbershops do their best business of the entire year. "Get a dragon head haircut on the second day of the second month, and you'll have vigor all year long." Many parents specifically take their children for their first haircut on this day. ② Eating dragon food—eating noodles is called eating dragon whiskers, eating dumplings is called eating dragon ears, eating spring pancakes is called eating dragon scales, eating wontons is called eating dragon eyes, and eating pig's head meat is called raising the dragon head—using various foods to make offerings to the dragon and pray for good fortune. ③ Drawing in the money dragon—in the morning, fetching a load of water from a well or river and pouring it into the water vat at home, symbolizing drawing wealth (the dragon) into the household. ④ Taboo on needlework—on this day, no needles, thread, or scissors are used, for fear of pricking the dragon's eyes. The Dragon Raises Its Head festival is now less grand than the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, but it remains very active among the people in the north. In recent years, the hairdressing industry has collectively offered discounts and promotions on this day—turning the traditional custom of getting a dragon head haircut into a consumer festival. The Dragon Raises Its Head is also an important node in China's traditional agricultural calendar—after the second day of the second lunar month, rainfall increases and spring plowing begins.

Water-Splashing Festival = Dai New Year (sixth month of the Dai calendar, April 13-15 on the Gregorian calendar). It lasts 3-5 days. First day (New Year's Eve) — bathing Buddha statues (pouring water over Buddha images), building sand pagodas to pray for blessings; second day (the "empty day") — a day that belongs neither to the old year nor the new year, when the wildest water-splashing battles begin; third day (New Year's Day) — the first day of the new year, continuing water splashing + ganbai (market fairs) + releasing sky lanterns + releasing river lanterns. Water splashing = blessings! The wetter you get, the more good fortune you have — so if you get splashed, you must not get angry, and even more so must not fight. The correct way to splash: use clean water (not dirty water/ice water/hot water), splash gently toward the shoulders and back (not the face/eyes/ears), do not splash elders and monks (instead sprinkle water to give blessings). Jinghong in Xishuangbanna is the site of the grandest Water-Splashing Festival. Taboos: do not splash the elderly/children/pregnant women/monks chanting sutras/civil servants in formal uniforms; splashing is prohibited after 10 p.m. (many places have regulations); do not use high-pressure water guns (too harmful). The modern Water-Splashing Festival has already influenced Thailand (Songkran)/Laos/Myanmar — the entire Indochina Peninsula is splashing water throughout April.

Zhongyuan Festival (Ullambana Festival) = the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, a triple overlap of Buddhism/Taoism/folk belief. In Buddhism it is called the Ullambana Assembly (originating from the Buddhist sutra story of Mulian saving his mother, to deliver relatives in the realm of hungry ghosts); in Taoism it is called the Zhongyuan Earth Official's Day of Pardon (the Earth Official among the Three Officials pardons the sins of the dead on this day); folk belief regards it as Ghost Festival—legend has it that the ghost gate opens on the first day of the seventh month and closes on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and during these two weeks the ghosts of the underworld return to the world of the living to receive offerings from their descendants. Traditional customs: burning paper money/setting out river lanterns (to light the way for souls in the water)/universal salvation rites/not undertaking major matters (no marriage, no moving house, no opening a business). Taboos: do not linger outside at night/do not whistle/do not pat others on the shoulder/do not stand in the middle of the road. Halloween originates from the Celtic Samhain, with a similar principle—the barrier between the two worlds thins on a specific date, and the souls of the dead can cross over. But Halloween has become a joyful and mischievous holiday (trick-or-treat), while Zhongyuan Festival in China and East Asia is still regarded as a sacrificial festival that should be treated seriously.

Chongyang (the 9th day of the 9th lunar month) = the double nine overlap (nine is the extreme of yang numbers), one of China's four traditional ancestor-worship festivals (Qingming / Zhongyuan / Chongyang / New Year's Eve). Climbing heights — originating from the story of Fei Changfang in the Eastern Han dynasty (taking the whole family up a height to avoid a plague), it has evolved to this day into the tradition of autumn outings and climbing heights. The three treasures of Chongyang: climbing heights / admiring chrysanthemums / drinking chrysanthemum wine (chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, symbolizing longevity). Eating Chongyang cake (homophone of "height," eating it brings step-by-step promotion). Wearing zhuyu (to ward off evil and drive away insects) — Wang Wei's poem "Far away I know where my brothers climb the heights, / Wearing zhuyu all around, missing one person" is written about Chongyang. Modern Chongyang = China's statutory Seniors' Day (legislated in 2013), and respecting and loving the elderly has become the core meaning of Chongyang. Communities and work units organize activities for the elderly on Chongyang Festival (mountain climbing / artistic performances / delivering consolation gifts). The double nine is a homophone of "long-lasting" — wishing the elderly health and longevity. Japan, influenced by Chinese culture, also has Chongyang (Kiku no Sekku, the Chrysanthemum Festival), but mainly retains the tradition of admiring chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine.

Qixi = packaged by contemporary commerce as Chinese Valentine's Day, but it was originally the Daughter's Festival (Qiqiao Festival). The core legend is the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (separated by the Milky Way, meeting once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month across a bridge of magpies). Ancient Qixi customs: on this day, women prayed to the Weaver Girl for skill and dexterity—threading needles to pray for skill (threading a needle under the moon; whoever threads it fastest is the most skillful)/throwing needles to test skill (placing needles in a basin of water and judging skill by the shape of the needle's shadow at the bottom)/worshipping the Weaver Girl/eating qiaoguo (fried dough sweets). Qixi = a skill contest + social gathering for ancient women, not Valentine's Day. Its only connection to love is the myth of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Modern Qixi has been packaged by merchants as Chinese Valentine's Day (gift-giving/dining/roses), a day for young couples to go on dates. But if you really want to find an ancient Chinese Valentine's Day—the Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month) is closer (the ancient Lantern Festival = the only opportunity when the curfew was lifted + young men and women could move about freely and eye each other), "When the moon rises above the willow tips, after dusk I have a rendezvous" was written about Lantern Festival night.

Qingming = the only existence that is both a solar term and a festival. Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship are the core: clearing weeds from the grave + placing flowers, fruit, and pastries + burning paper money (increasingly replaced by flowers) + kneeling and bowing in worship. But Qingming is not only about mourning—it is itself the node of spring's return to the earth: spring outings (during Qingming it rains纷纷 but the spring light is bright, and the whole family has a picnic after sweeping the tombs), flying kites (letting bad luck fly away, cutting the string to let the kite fly off), swinging on swings (in ancient times the only entertainment women could publicly enjoy on Qingming), cuju (ancient football, a traditional Qingming sports activity), inserting and wearing willow (weaving willow branches into wreaths to wear on the head, warding off evil and praying for blessings), eating qingtuan (Jiangnan/mugwort juice + glutinous rice skin + red bean paste/meat floss egg yolk filling, a Qingming-exclusive food). Qingming = a mix of sorrow and joy—both commemorating departed loved ones and embracing the newborn spring, the most philosophically profound existence among Chinese festivals.

Mid-Autumn Festival = Reunion Festival. Mooncakes are the core, but mooncakes from different parts of China vary so much they don't even seem like the same food. Cantonese-style mooncakes (the largest share nationwide): thin crust, generous filling, rich and oily—lotus seed paste with egg yolk/red bean paste/five kernels. Suzhou-style mooncakes (Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai): flaky crust that sheds layers with every bite; fresh pork mooncakes are the soul of Suzhou-style mooncakes (eat them hot fresh out of the oven! Northerners think all mooncakes are sweet, and upon tasting a fresh pork mooncake they'd doubt life itself). Beijing-style mooncakes: Zilaihong/Zilaibai, thick hard crust with relatively dry filling, five kernels + red and green candied strips (the most complained-about mooncake nationwide—cloyingly sweet + the red and green strips have a weird texture). Yunnan-style mooncakes (Yunnan): ham mooncakes! Yunnan ham + honey + white sugar in the filling, a mix of sweet and savory. Hong Kong-style snow skin mooncakes: glutinous rice skin + refrigerated, more like a dessert than a mooncake. Chaoshan-style mooncakes (Chaoshan): flaky crust with mung bean paste filling, small and exquisite. Shanxi-style mooncakes (Shanxi): flatbread with oil, salt, and sesame. New-wave mooncakes: ice cream mooncakes (Häagen-Dazs)/chocolate mooncakes/custard lava mooncakes (popularized by Maxim's). Five-kernel mooncakes get a bad rap because: inconsistent quality (good five-kernel has walnuts, almonds, olive kernels, sesame, melon seeds paired with candied winter melon; bad ones use rotten peanuts + inferior saccharin) + childhood trauma (hard enough to knock someone out).

Dragon Boat Festival = China's first festival to be inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2009). Core legend: commemorating Qu Yuan (who drowned himself in the Miluo River; the people of Chu rowed boats to rescue him + threw zongzi into the river to prevent fish from eating his body). But Dragon Boat Festival customs go far beyond zongzi and dragon boats: ① Hanging mugwort and calamus — the volatile essential oils in mugwort and calamus repel mosquitoes and insects and have bactericidal effects (the scientific core of ancient epidemic prevention measures) ② Tying five-color strings — the five colors of blue, white, red, black, and yellow correspond to the Five Elements; tied on children's wrists and ankles to ward off evil, cut off and washed away on the first rainy day after the festival (symbolizing washing away bad luck) ③ Wearing sachets — cloth bags filled with cinnabar, realgar, and aromatic herbs, worn on the body, also for repelling insects and killing bacteria ④ Drinking realgar wine — no longer advocated (realgar contains toxic arsenic), but in "The Legend of the White Snake," Lady White drank realgar wine and revealed her true form, which made this custom deeply ingrained in people's minds ⑤ Dou cao (grass fighting) — an ancient Dragon Boat Festival game for children, in which two people each hold a blade of grass and pull until one breaks the other's ⑥ Orchid soup bathing — bathing in water boiled with herbs such as Eupatorium fortunei. The North-South zongzi war: northern sweet zongzi (red dates/red bean paste/candied dates) + southern savory zongzi (salted egg yolk/pork belly/shiitake mushrooms/dried scallops) + Guangdong guozheng zongzi (as big as a pillow, one for the whole family to share).

Spring Festival = the most important holiday for Chinese people, but customs vary greatly from place to place. New Year's Eve dinner: In the north, dumplings (eaten at zishi, the midnight hour, homophonous with "gengsui jiaozi," meaning the change of the year at midnight)/in the south, niangao (rice cake, symbolizing rising higher year after year) + fish (symbolizing surplus year after year; the fish must not be finished and is kept until the first day of the New Year)/Guangdong pen cai (basin dish, with ingredients stacked layer upon layer in a large basin)/Sichuan hot pot (numbing-spicy and fiery red)/Shanghai "quanjiafu" clay-pot casserole. New Year's Eve night: In the north, staying up late to see in the New Year until the early hours + setting off firecrackers (mostly banned in cities, replaced by electronic firecrackers)/in the south, worshipping ancestors + giving children lucky money. First day of the New Year: In the north, eating dumplings + paying New Year calls (traditionally with cupped-hand salutes and kowtows, now with bows)/in the south, eating tangyuan (glutinous rice balls, symbolizing reunion and completeness) + going to temples to burn the first incense of the year. Po Wu (the fifth day of the first lunar month): In the north, Po Wu means eating dumplings and sending away poverty/in the south, welcoming the God of Wealth (in Shanghai, the firecrackers at dawn on the fifth are louder than those on New Year's Eve). Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month): In the north, eating yuanxiao (rolled, with a thick skin)/in the south, eating tangyuan (wrapped, with a thin skin). Throughout the Spring Festival period: In the north, temple fairs (Beijing's Ditan Park/Longtan Lake)/in the south, flower markets (Guangzhou's flower street, strolled until the early hours)/in the southwest, long-street banquets (the Hani people of Yunnan)/in the northwest, shehuo folk performances to celebrate spring. Spring Festival is the largest population migration in the world—about 3 billion passenger trips are made over the 40 days of Chunyun.

Nadam = the grandest traditional sports and entertainment event of the Mongolian people (July-August each year). In Mongolian, "Nadam" means game or entertainment. Three competitions (the Three Skills of Mongolian Men): ① Wrestling (Bökh) — no weight classes! A small person can challenge a giant, with hundreds to thousands of participants, wearing special wrestling vests (Zodog), and the champion receives the title "Darkhan Bökh" (lifetime honor) ② Archery — traditional horn bows, open to both men and women ③ Horse racing — Mongolian horses are short, stocky, and highly endurance-capable, and riders are mostly children (lighter weight makes horses faster). In addition, there are performances and competitions such as Mongolian chess, Bökhe (throwing), and lassoing horses. The largest Nadam is in Xilingol League (Inner Mongolia) and is a national-level intangible cultural heritage; there are also local Nadams in various townships and villages. Tourists can — watch the various competitions (free or tickets costing a few dozen yuan), experience yurt accommodation + boiled mutton + milk tea, try horseback riding and archery (tourist version), and buy Mongolian handicrafts. During Nadam, the cooking smoke from yurts does not stop from morning to night — hosts must treat all arriving guests with milk tea and boiled mutton; this is the Mongolian way of hospitality.

The Third Day of the Third Lunar Month / Shangsi Festival — China's oldest Valentine's Day + spring outing festival. During the pre-Qin period, on the Shangsi day of the third month (later fixed as the third day of the third lunar month), people went to the waterside to bathe and perform purification rituals (bathing in water infused with fragrant herbs to ward off misfortune and illness — an ancient epidemic-prevention ceremony). Later it evolved into spring outings, floating wine cups along a winding stream (a cup of wine floated downstream and stopped before whoever it stopped before had to compose a poem and drink — Wang Xizhi's "Lantingji Xu" was written in exactly such a setting), and courtship between men and women (in ancient society, a rare day of free socializing for young men and women). The Third Day of the Third Month is especially important among ethnic minorities: Guangxi Zhuang — the Third Day of the Third Month is the most important festival for the Zhuang people, with two days of holiday across the whole region, song festivals (men and women singing antiphonal mountain songs to express affection through song), and eating five-color glutinous rice. Guangxi's Third Day of the Third Month attracts millions of tourists every year. In Hainan, the Li/Miao people also have a holiday on the Third Day of the Third Month. Japan's Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri) also originates from China's Shangsi Festival on the Third Day of the Third Month. Nowadays the Third Day of the Third Month is not taken very seriously in Han Chinese areas (except for literati holding Lanting gatherings), but in the ethnic minority areas of Guangxi/Hainan/Guizhou, the Third Day of the Third Month remains a super grand festival.

Laba (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) = the prelude to Spring Festival. Laba porridge = whole grains and mixed beans (glutinous rice/red beans/mung beans/peanuts/lotus seeds/red dates/longan/Job's tears/walnuts/chestnuts—at least eight kinds, the more the better) boiled together until soft, mushy, and thick. Laba porridge has two traditional origins: ① Buddhism—the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day of Shakyamuni's enlightenment (before attaining enlightenment under the bodhi tree, Shakyamuni drank a milk-rice porridge offered by a shepherd girl and recovered his strength); major temples distribute porridge on Laba (people line up at temples for free Laba porridge, and many go at midnight to queue). Beijing's Yonghe Temple cooks several tons of porridge every Laba and gives it out for free. ② Folk tradition—Laba porridge = a symbol of a bumper harvest of the five grains; drinking Laba porridge is a prayer for a good harvest in the coming year. The first bowl of the cooked Laba porridge must first be offered to the ancestors, and then it is exchanged with neighbors (it must not be eaten only by one's own family—giving Laba porridge to neighbors is an important custom). Soaking Laba garlic—garlic soaked in vinegar, sealed until New Year's Eve and then opened; the garlic turns emerald green (the vinegar absorbs the garlic's pungency, and dipping dumplings in it is superb). Once Laba is over, it's New Year—"Child, child, don't be greedy; once Laba is past, it's New Year."

Winter Solstice = the earliest solar term to be established among the 24 solar terms (during the Spring and Autumn period, the winter solstice was determined by observing the sun's shadow with a earth gnomon). In ancient times, the winter solstice was the most important solar term of the year—the Zhou Dynasty took the winter solstice as the beginning of the year (the winter solstice was the first day of the new year). Hence the saying "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year." The emperor would offer sacrifices to Heaven on the winter solstice (the Temple of Heaven in Beijing was the site where Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven on the winter solstice). Winter solstice foods differ greatly between the north and the south: in the north, dumplings (if you don't hold a bowl of dumplings on the winter solstice, no one will care if your ears freeze off—it is said to come from the legend of Zhang Zhongjing using mutton dumplings to treat frostbite); in the south, tangyuan (eating tangyuan on the winter solstice adds a year to your age); in Sichuan, mutton soup (on the winter solstice, Sichuan people must drink mutton soup, and long lines form at the doors of mutton soup restaurants); in Jiangnan, red bean glutinous rice (red color wards off evil); in Guangdong, glutinous rice cakes + cured meat rice (the winter solstice is second only to the Spring Festival in importance to Cantonese people); in Minnan, rolling yuanzai on the winter solstice (the whole family rolls tangyuan together, red ones + white ones, a fun parent-child activity). The winter solstice is the day with the shortest daylight of the year—after the winter solstice, the daylight grows longer day by day, yang energy begins to rise again, and the ancients considered it the turning point of "the return of a single yang."

On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head—spring returns to the earth, and the hibernating dragon awakens and lifts its head, beginning the year's work of gathering clouds and bringing rain. Core customs: ① Getting a "dragon head" haircut—on the second day of the second lunar month, barbershops do their best business of the entire year. "Get a dragon head haircut on the second day of the second month, and you'll have vigor all year long." Many parents specifically take their children for their first haircut on this day. ② Eating dragon food—eating noodles is called eating dragon whiskers, eating dumplings is called eating dragon ears, eating spring pancakes is called eating dragon scales, eating wontons is called eating dragon eyes, and eating pig's head meat is called raising the dragon head—using various foods to make offerings to the dragon and pray for good fortune. ③ Drawing in the money dragon—in the morning, fetching a load of water from a well or river and pouring it into the water vat at home, symbolizing drawing wealth (the dragon) into the household. ④ Taboo on needlework—on this day, no needles, thread, or scissors are used, for fear of pricking the dragon's eyes. The Dragon Raises Its Head festival is now less grand than the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, but it remains very active among the people in the north. In recent years, the hairdressing industry has collectively offered discounts and promotions on this day—turning the traditional custom of getting a dragon head haircut into a consumer festival. The Dragon Raises Its Head is also an important node in China's traditional agricultural calendar—after the second day of the second lunar month, rainfall increases and spring plowing begins.

Water-Splashing Festival = Dai New Year (sixth month of the Dai calendar, April 13-15 on the Gregorian calendar). It lasts 3-5 days. First day (New Year's Eve) — bathing Buddha statues (pouring water over Buddha images), building sand pagodas to pray for blessings; second day (the "empty day") — a day that belongs neither to the old year nor the new year, when the wildest water-splashing battles begin; third day (New Year's Day) — the first day of the new year, continuing water splashing + ganbai (market fairs) + releasing sky lanterns + releasing river lanterns. Water splashing = blessings! The wetter you get, the more good fortune you have — so if you get splashed, you must not get angry, and even more so must not fight. The correct way to splash: use clean water (not dirty water/ice water/hot water), splash gently toward the shoulders and back (not the face/eyes/ears), do not splash elders and monks (instead sprinkle water to give blessings). Jinghong in Xishuangbanna is the site of the grandest Water-Splashing Festival. Taboos: do not splash the elderly/children/pregnant women/monks chanting sutras/civil servants in formal uniforms; splashing is prohibited after 10 p.m. (many places have regulations); do not use high-pressure water guns (too harmful). The modern Water-Splashing Festival has already influenced Thailand (Songkran)/Laos/Myanmar — the entire Indochina Peninsula is splashing water throughout April.

Zhongyuan Festival (Ullambana Festival) = the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, a triple overlap of Buddhism/Taoism/folk belief. In Buddhism it is called the Ullambana Assembly (originating from the Buddhist sutra story of Mulian saving his mother, to deliver relatives in the realm of hungry ghosts); in Taoism it is called the Zhongyuan Earth Official's Day of Pardon (the Earth Official among the Three Officials pardons the sins of the dead on this day); folk belief regards it as Ghost Festival—legend has it that the ghost gate opens on the first day of the seventh month and closes on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and during these two weeks the ghosts of the underworld return to the world of the living to receive offerings from their descendants. Traditional customs: burning paper money/setting out river lanterns (to light the way for souls in the water)/universal salvation rites/not undertaking major matters (no marriage, no moving house, no opening a business). Taboos: do not linger outside at night/do not whistle/do not pat others on the shoulder/do not stand in the middle of the road. Halloween originates from the Celtic Samhain, with a similar principle—the barrier between the two worlds thins on a specific date, and the souls of the dead can cross over. But Halloween has become a joyful and mischievous holiday (trick-or-treat), while Zhongyuan Festival in China and East Asia is still regarded as a sacrificial festival that should be treated seriously.

Chongyang (the 9th day of the 9th lunar month) = the double nine overlap (nine is the extreme of yang numbers), one of China's four traditional ancestor-worship festivals (Qingming / Zhongyuan / Chongyang / New Year's Eve). Climbing heights — originating from the story of Fei Changfang in the Eastern Han dynasty (taking the whole family up a height to avoid a plague), it has evolved to this day into the tradition of autumn outings and climbing heights. The three treasures of Chongyang: climbing heights / admiring chrysanthemums / drinking chrysanthemum wine (chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, symbolizing longevity). Eating Chongyang cake (homophone of "height," eating it brings step-by-step promotion). Wearing zhuyu (to ward off evil and drive away insects) — Wang Wei's poem "Far away I know where my brothers climb the heights, / Wearing zhuyu all around, missing one person" is written about Chongyang. Modern Chongyang = China's statutory Seniors' Day (legislated in 2013), and respecting and loving the elderly has become the core meaning of Chongyang. Communities and work units organize activities for the elderly on Chongyang Festival (mountain climbing / artistic performances / delivering consolation gifts). The double nine is a homophone of "long-lasting" — wishing the elderly health and longevity. Japan, influenced by Chinese culture, also has Chongyang (Kiku no Sekku, the Chrysanthemum Festival), but mainly retains the tradition of admiring chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum wine.

Qixi = packaged by contemporary commerce as Chinese Valentine's Day, but it was originally the Daughter's Festival (Qiqiao Festival). The core legend is the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (separated by the Milky Way, meeting once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month across a bridge of magpies). Ancient Qixi customs: on this day, women prayed to the Weaver Girl for skill and dexterity—threading needles to pray for skill (threading a needle under the moon; whoever threads it fastest is the most skillful)/throwing needles to test skill (placing needles in a basin of water and judging skill by the shape of the needle's shadow at the bottom)/worshipping the Weaver Girl/eating qiaoguo (fried dough sweets). Qixi = a skill contest + social gathering for ancient women, not Valentine's Day. Its only connection to love is the myth of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Modern Qixi has been packaged by merchants as Chinese Valentine's Day (gift-giving/dining/roses), a day for young couples to go on dates. But if you really want to find an ancient Chinese Valentine's Day—the Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month) is closer (the ancient Lantern Festival = the only opportunity when the curfew was lifted + young men and women could move about freely and eye each other), "When the moon rises above the willow tips, after dusk I have a rendezvous" was written about Lantern Festival night.

Qingming = the only existence that is both a solar term and a festival. Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship are the core: clearing weeds from the grave + placing flowers, fruit, and pastries + burning paper money (increasingly replaced by flowers) + kneeling and bowing in worship. But Qingming is not only about mourning—it is itself the node of spring's return to the earth: spring outings (during Qingming it rains纷纷 but the spring light is bright, and the whole family has a picnic after sweeping the tombs), flying kites (letting bad luck fly away, cutting the string to let the kite fly off), swinging on swings (in ancient times the only entertainment women could publicly enjoy on Qingming), cuju (ancient football, a traditional Qingming sports activity), inserting and wearing willow (weaving willow branches into wreaths to wear on the head, warding off evil and praying for blessings), eating qingtuan (Jiangnan/mugwort juice + glutinous rice skin + red bean paste/meat floss egg yolk filling, a Qingming-exclusive food). Qingming = a mix of sorrow and joy—both commemorating departed loved ones and embracing the newborn spring, the most philosophically profound existence among Chinese festivals.

Mid-Autumn Festival = Reunion Festival. Mooncakes are the core, but mooncakes from different parts of China vary so much they don't even seem like the same food. Cantonese-style mooncakes (the largest share nationwide): thin crust, generous filling, rich and oily—lotus seed paste with egg yolk/red bean paste/five kernels. Suzhou-style mooncakes (Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai): flaky crust that sheds layers with every bite; fresh pork mooncakes are the soul of Suzhou-style mooncakes (eat them hot fresh out of the oven! Northerners think all mooncakes are sweet, and upon tasting a fresh pork mooncake they'd doubt life itself). Beijing-style mooncakes: Zilaihong/Zilaibai, thick hard crust with relatively dry filling, five kernels + red and green candied strips (the most complained-about mooncake nationwide—cloyingly sweet + the red and green strips have a weird texture). Yunnan-style mooncakes (Yunnan): ham mooncakes! Yunnan ham + honey + white sugar in the filling, a mix of sweet and savory. Hong Kong-style snow skin mooncakes: glutinous rice skin + refrigerated, more like a dessert than a mooncake. Chaoshan-style mooncakes (Chaoshan): flaky crust with mung bean paste filling, small and exquisite. Shanxi-style mooncakes (Shanxi): flatbread with oil, salt, and sesame. New-wave mooncakes: ice cream mooncakes (Häagen-Dazs)/chocolate mooncakes/custard lava mooncakes (popularized by Maxim's). Five-kernel mooncakes get a bad rap because: inconsistent quality (good five-kernel has walnuts, almonds, olive kernels, sesame, melon seeds paired with candied winter melon; bad ones use rotten peanuts + inferior saccharin) + childhood trauma (hard enough to knock someone out).

Dragon Boat Festival = China's first festival to be inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2009). Core legend: commemorating Qu Yuan (who drowned himself in the Miluo River; the people of Chu rowed boats to rescue him + threw zongzi into the river to prevent fish from eating his body). But Dragon Boat Festival customs go far beyond zongzi and dragon boats: ① Hanging mugwort and calamus — the volatile essential oils in mugwort and calamus repel mosquitoes and insects and have bactericidal effects (the scientific core of ancient epidemic prevention measures) ② Tying five-color strings — the five colors of blue, white, red, black, and yellow correspond to the Five Elements; tied on children's wrists and ankles to ward off evil, cut off and washed away on the first rainy day after the festival (symbolizing washing away bad luck) ③ Wearing sachets — cloth bags filled with cinnabar, realgar, and aromatic herbs, worn on the body, also for repelling insects and killing bacteria ④ Drinking realgar wine — no longer advocated (realgar contains toxic arsenic), but in "The Legend of the White Snake," Lady White drank realgar wine and revealed her true form, which made this custom deeply ingrained in people's minds ⑤ Dou cao (grass fighting) — an ancient Dragon Boat Festival game for children, in which two people each hold a blade of grass and pull until one breaks the other's ⑥ Orchid soup bathing — bathing in water boiled with herbs such as Eupatorium fortunei. The North-South zongzi war: northern sweet zongzi (red dates/red bean paste/candied dates) + southern savory zongzi (salted egg yolk/pork belly/shiitake mushrooms/dried scallops) + Guangdong guozheng zongzi (as big as a pillow, one for the whole family to share).

Spring Festival = the most important holiday for Chinese people, but customs vary greatly from place to place. New Year's Eve dinner: In the north, dumplings (eaten at zishi, the midnight hour, homophonous with "gengsui jiaozi," meaning the change of the year at midnight)/in the south, niangao (rice cake, symbolizing rising higher year after year) + fish (symbolizing surplus year after year; the fish must not be finished and is kept until the first day of the New Year)/Guangdong pen cai (basin dish, with ingredients stacked layer upon layer in a large basin)/Sichuan hot pot (numbing-spicy and fiery red)/Shanghai "quanjiafu" clay-pot casserole. New Year's Eve night: In the north, staying up late to see in the New Year until the early hours + setting off firecrackers (mostly banned in cities, replaced by electronic firecrackers)/in the south, worshipping ancestors + giving children lucky money. First day of the New Year: In the north, eating dumplings + paying New Year calls (traditionally with cupped-hand salutes and kowtows, now with bows)/in the south, eating tangyuan (glutinous rice balls, symbolizing reunion and completeness) + going to temples to burn the first incense of the year. Po Wu (the fifth day of the first lunar month): In the north, Po Wu means eating dumplings and sending away poverty/in the south, welcoming the God of Wealth (in Shanghai, the firecrackers at dawn on the fifth are louder than those on New Year's Eve). Lantern Festival (the fifteenth day of the first lunar month): In the north, eating yuanxiao (rolled, with a thick skin)/in the south, eating tangyuan (wrapped, with a thin skin). Throughout the Spring Festival period: In the north, temple fairs (Beijing's Ditan Park/Longtan Lake)/in the south, flower markets (Guangzhou's flower street, strolled until the early hours)/in the southwest, long-street banquets (the Hani people of Yunnan)/in the northwest, shehuo folk performances to celebrate spring. Spring Festival is the largest population migration in the world—about 3 billion passenger trips are made over the 40 days of Chunyun.