Holidays in China 2022

The Gregorian calendar is by far the most common system used to mark the passage of time. Despite its near ubiquity, however, many cultures and religions continue to rely on lunisolar calendars. Lunisolar calendars calculate the passage of time based on astronomical phenomenon such as moon phases. The traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar. In Mainland China, many cultural holidays are observed according when they occur on the lunisolar calendar. Each year at the end of November or start of December, the General Office of the State Council in China publishes the official dates for holidays during the coming year. There are currently seven official public holidays in Mainland China.

Foreigners working in Mainland China are normally shocked to discover so-called makeup work days. During major public holidays, the government in China mandates workers make up one or two rest days by working on the weekends either leading up to or following a holiday vacation. This somewhat shocking aspect of Chinese holiday life is begrudgingly tolerated in Mainland China, even while many people routinely express dissatisfaction at the concept. Add to this the way weekends are considered part of provided vacation and you begin to grasp the oddities of holiday time off in Mainland China. Businesses regularly trumpet their generosity in offering employees significant vacations despite including weekends into the total while simultaneously demanding makeup days.

China celebrates New Year's along with the rest of the world on January 1. Activities vary from city-to-city and province-to-province; however, they parallel celebrations elsewhere with festivities culminating at midnight. Government workers and employees of large corporations traditionally receive 3 days off for New Year's.

The major yearly holiday in Mainland China is without a doubt Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival). This marks the point when the lunisolar calendar begins a new annual cycle. Cycles are identified with a particular animal contained in the Chinese zodiac. 2021 was the year of the Ox and 2022 will be the year of the Tiger. The precise date for Spring Festival varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2022, Spring Festival will begin on January 31. Government workers and employees of large corporations traditionally receive 7 days off for Spring Festival; however, many opt to take even longer vacations in order to visit family and mark the full 15 day festival with lavish dinners, gifts, and other practices. This is the most important holiday in Mainland China.

Chinese culture places great importance on the respect and veneration of ancestors. On Tomb-Sweeping Day, families will visit gravesites in order to clean them and bring offerings to their ancestors. These might include foods favored by the deceased or other items thought to be useful in the afterlife. In some places, people prepare elaborate paper-based gifts that include representations of various mundane items such as new glasses, clothing, or even a type of paper currency thought to be useful to the departed. These offerings are ceremonially burned and thereby carried to the ancestors. Tomb-Sweeping Day occurs at the beginning of April. It is observed as a 3-day holiday by the government and other large businesses.

Mainland China celebrates International Workers' Day each year on May 1. Interestingly, Labor Day originated in the United States in the late 1880s; however, it is no longer observed there due to its association with leftist organizations. By contrast, the Chinese Communist Party promotes the importance of International Workers' Day in accordance with its Marxist-Leninist roots. The vacation period for state employees and others extends up to 5 days; however, this usually overlaps with a weekend meaning people generally only receive 3 days off work. Celebrations are mostly individual with some localities holding public ceremonies to bestow recognition on laborers while extolling their contributions to society.

There are several origin stories for the Dragon Boat Festival. The one told by most people in Mainland China dates back to the 4th century BCE. Legend speaks of a cabinet official and poet named Qu Yuan. When warriors from a neighboring state captured the capital of Qu’s own state, Qu was so overcome with despair he flung himself into the nearby river. Local people saw this and raced their boats to the drowning man in a desperate, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to rescue him. Despite trying, they were also unable to recover Qu’s body. In order to prevent river fish from devouring it, locals tossed balls of sticky rice into the waters so the fish would eat them instead. Thus, the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival were born. Contemporary celebrations in China include dragon boat races where teams compete against each other in sometimes elaborately decorated wooden paddle boats. A sticky rice snack known as zongzi (粽子) is traditionally consumed during this period as well.

Mid-Autumn Festival is roughly analogous to Thanksgiving in the United States and to the harvest festivals held throughout autumn in Europe. It is meant to celebrate a successful harvest and is a time for family reunions or matchmaking. Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the legend of Chang'e, a woman who drank an immortal elixir and was transported to the moon to live forever. The legend tells also of a jade rabbit, who, when asked for food by three immortals wandering in a forest, sacrificed himself so they could eat. So moved were they by the gesture that they bestowed immortality on the rabbit, who was likewise transported to the moon to live with Chang'e. Today, people in Mainland China celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival by eating so-called mooncakes, which are often adorned with auspicious words or representations of Chang'e and the rabbit.

The final public holiday in Mainland China is National Day. This commemorates the day in 1949 when Mao Zedong stood atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing to proclaim the founding of the People's Republic of China. Next to Spring Festival, National Day is the second most significant holiday in Mainland China. People normally take a second vacation focused more on travel since the tradition during Spring Festival is to return home to be amongst family. By contrast, National Day sees more travel to typical vacation destinations. State employees and major companies will close down for a week (hence the holiday is also known as Golden Week). When you factor in the weekends leading up to and following China National Day, the length of time between working can stretch to 11 days, an ideal amount of time to travel.

In addition to official public holidays, people in Mainland China observe several lesser holidays throughout the year. These often have important historic or cultural significance. The following list includes a few examples and is by no means exhaustive.

The Double Seven Festival is so-named because it occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month in the lunisolar calendar. It is more colloquially known as Chinese Valentine's Day. The holiday is associated with the legend of Zhinü (织女) and Niulang (牛郎) as told in the classic Chinese folktale The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. The story goes that the two lovers were forbidden from being together and banished to opposite sides of a river. Once a year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would create a crossing over the waters and allow the lovers one day together.

Each year during the 7th lunar month, the three realms of heaven, hell, and the earth are said to open to each other. Taoists and Buddhists in particular believe this is a time when spirits can return to the land of the living. Unlike on Tomb Sweeping Day where the tradition is simply to pay respects to departed ancestors, ancestors are thought actually return during the Ghost Festival. This is a time when people will again make offerings of food or paper versions of common items their ancestors can take back with them to the afterworld. It is not uncommon to see people in the streets or outside their homes burning papers as an offering to the spirits.

Chinese culture contains strong elements of numerology. Various numbers are considered significant and days when they occur together are marked with celebration. The Double Ninth Festival, coming on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, is one such day. In Chinese philosophy, nine is associated with the concept of Yang, the light portion on the famous yin and yang symbol. On the day of the Double Nine, it is said there is too much Yang present, a potentially dangerous situation. People in Mainland China are apt to be especially cautious on this day and may again pay a visit to the graves of ancestors. Other traditions include climbing to a high location or drinking chrysanthemum liquor, both of which are thought to protect against danger.

As China's economy has grown, Chinese society has rapidly developed strong consumerist tendencies. Thus, where the United States has Black Friday, China has Singles' Day. Created in the 1990s by university students, it has since morphed into the largest one-day sales event anywhere in the world. After the Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba launched a bid to capitalize on Singles' Day in 2009, Chinese people from all walks of life eagerly look forward to the steep discounts and other inducements offered by retailers across the economy. Some people will go so far as to buy a year's worth of certain supplies in order to get the biggest savings possible. Singles' Day is Black Friday on steroids and on November 11, 2022, you too can get in on the action.

Holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Passover, Ramadan, etc. are informally observed by people in Mainland China. Businesses often cater to foreigners around these times with special promotions, discounts, and decorations. It's not uncommon to see unofficial celebrations in major cities on these days. So don't be shocked if you happen upon a group of kids trick-or-treating in Beijing or Shanghai on October 31.

Holidays are great times to explore and learn about China's rich traditions and intangible cultural heritage. You will bring a smile to many a face if you greet people using the customary phrases on the right days. This short explainer can help you get a leg up on your friends. It will leave you well on your way to seeming like a local.