Tag Archives: Chinese Festivals

Happy Single's Day!

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Today, I'd really like to introduce a very funny festival in China – The Single's Day(aka 光棍节). It's Nov 11, the famous Single's Day in China - a festival for single person 'invented' by some Chinese college students. (They picked up Nov 11 since 11-11 have so much 'single's)

The first time I knew this was in 2002. My freshman year in HUST. I do remember that night, after lights out, guys in our apartment started to shout and throw stuff outside the window to celebrate (in fact they are just having too much hormone #lol). Luckily our apartment was just next to a girl's apartment and they even shouted back. Then some of the guys got extremely excited and as you may guess – they almost threw all the stuff in their room then could throw, including a CRT monitor!! Hoho…no one had a good sleep that night…

Why Chinese people are so creative on this? I think, in western countries, people fall in love and even have sex at a much younger age than us. In China, due to our restricted traditional culture and college-entering pressure(actually very stupid and time-wasting education program), it's really hard to think about love in high school. So when the boys and girls enter a brand new pressure-free place, they would really find some way to change their poor life.

Frankly I'm really too old and too 'sweet' to celebrate, but Single's Day is really a good festival created by Chinese college students, so let's bless the singles :)

Wishing you all have a happy family forever

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Yes, the "Mid Autumn Festival"(Beijing time, Sep 13 – Sep 15) is coming! Best wishes to you all!

Mid Autumn’s day, aka "中秋节"(Mid-Autumn Festival) is a very famous Chinese festival. Here are some more information about "Mid Autumn's Day" via Wikipedia in English:

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer 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 pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

  • Eating moon cakes outside under the moon
  • Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
  • Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns
  • Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e
  • Planting Mid-Autumn trees
  • Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
  • Fire Dragon Dances

I also found a very great translation for the famous poem "水调歌头·明月几时有" from Youtube.

明月几时有
How often is there a bright Moon?
把酒问青天
I raise my cup of wine and ask the blue sky.
不知天上宫阙
I don't know about the palace in Heaven,
今夕是何年
What year this really is.
我欲乘风归去
I would like to ride the wind,
又恐琼楼玉宇
But fear wherever the magnificent jade structures are,
高处不胜寒
There is an unbearable chill in high places.
起舞弄清影
Dances clear the image,
何似在人间
As if on Earth.
转朱阁
Meandering through luxurious chambers,
低绮户
And the silk patterned households,
照无眠
All seem to be losing sleep.
不应有恨
Should not harbor misgivings
何事长向别时圆
And long for a full Moon another time.
人有悲欢离合
People can have sorrow, joy, separation and togetherness.
月有阴晴圆缺
The Moon can be dim, bright, full and eclipsed.
此事古难全
This matter has always been true since the beginning of time.
但愿人长久
Wishing we last forever,
千里共婵娟
To appreciate the beauty of the Moon even while thousand miles apart.

Here is another translation from Baidu:

When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.
I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.
Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.
Dancing with my moon-lit shadow
It does not seem like the human world
The moon rounds the red mansion Stoops to silk-pad doors
Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart
The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane
This has been going on since the beginning of time
May we all be blessed with longevity Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.