Chinese people celebrate a seemingly endless number of festivals during the year. In December, the three most widely known festivals in China are:
Christmas: December 25th
Winter Solstice Festival (Dongzhi): December 21st in 2021
New Year Festival of the Dong Ethnicity: December 4th in 2022·
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Christmas in China
Date: 25th December
Christmas has been steadily gaining popularity in China in recent decades. Though it is not a public holiday (except in Hong Kong and Macau where December 25 and 26 are both official public holidays), this does not stop it from becoming a major annual event in major cities of China.
Christmas in China is not only an important shopping season, but it has also developed its own unique Chinese flair.
Christmas in China is a Valentine’s Day for the Young.
Firstly, as Christmas is not a traditional Chinese festival, young people will not celebrate it with families (unless they are Christians). Some, who are influenced by some Western ideas, prefer to celebrate it with their romantic partner. Second, to boost sales, merchants produced much-hyped advertisements for gifts directed at young couples. It's largely a commercially-driven phenomenon.
That's what makes young couples keen to exchange gifts and go on a date on this day.
It is a tradition to eat an apple on Christmas Eve
Because Christmas Eve is called Ping'an Ye (平安夜) in Chinese, meaning ‘peaceful (or quiet) evening’ (from the translation of the carol “Silent Night”). The word for apple in Mandarin is píngguǒ (苹果), and its píng sounds like the word for ‘peace’.
For more, see Christmas in China.
Winter Solstice(Dongzhi) Festival
Date: 21st December in 2021, 22nd December in 2022
The Winter Solstice Festival (冬至: Dongzhi or ‘Winter’s Arrival’ in Mandarin) has been a traditional festival since ancient times in China. China’s Winter Solstice is the day with the shortest daytime and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. After that day, the daylight hours become longer and longer, and people celebrate it with a sense of hope for the coming year.
On this day, emperors would host their sacrificial ceremonies, praying to Heaven for good weather and harvests in the next year.
Winter Solstice Festival is sometimes celebrated on the 23rd day of the 11th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. On the Gregorian calendar that’s within about two weeks of December 21st. Various folk-custom activities are held to celebrate this festival...
Eating Hot Dumplings with Friends or Family
This is one of the most common customs of Winter Solstice, especially in northern China. Per conventional Chinese wisdom, the weather will get colder after Winter Solstice. Eating hot food and drinking hot broth can help people stave off illness and disease and stay warm.
According to the theories of traditional Chinese medicine (and superstition), as the shape of dumplings is like an ear, eating dumplings can make blood circulate to the ear, preventing the occurrence of frostbite.
Eating a Meal of Tangyuan
Some people in southern China (south of the Yangtze River) make and eat a meal of tangyuan (sticky rice dumplings in a sweet broth) on this day.
Tangyuan are specially cooked balls of rice that might have a filling of bean paste or meat. Their round shape symbolizes family unity and prosperity in Chinese culture. They are used for ancestor worship and given to relatives and friends as gifts.
Visiting Ancestral Tombs and Worshipping Ancestors
This is a custom in some parts of China’s southern coastal regions. They pray to ancestors to bless them with safety and health for the coming year.
On that day, people go to their clan tombs to offer food and drink to their ancestors’ spirits, clean the tombs, and work to maintain them. Then they gather in the evening afterwards for hot dumplings and drinks.
For more, see Winter Solstice Festival.
The New Year Festival of the Dong Ethnicity
Date: December 4th–14th in 2021, from December 23rd in 2022
The population of the Dong people ranks 11th among China's 56 ethnicities. They are mainly distributed in southwest China (Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hubei provinces).
Dong New Year is an important festival for the Dong minority — a festival of ancestor worship and harvest celebrations. Celebrations of the festival last from the 1st day to the 11th day of the 11th month of the Chinese lunar calendar every year. During the festival, Dong people will do different kinds of celebrations...
Ancestor Worship
Worshipping ancestors is a must-do for Dong people during their New Year festival, praying to their ancestors to bless them in the coming year. They make rice cakes, slaughter animals as sacrifices, and make sacrifices to their ancestors while burning joss sticks and candles.
Having a Big Meal and Food Gifting
During their New Year period, Dong people invite their honored guests to a feast. They also send various kinds of food to their friends and relatives, including pickled vegetables, frozen fish, and ziba (cakes made from cooked glutinous rice pounded into a paste).
Performances
It is a tradition that Dong people wear traditional costumes and dance to music played on the lusheng (a wind instrument made from bamboo).
Buffalo fighting is another popular performance, which attracts large crowds. The winning buffalo will be tagged with a red cloth and cheered by audiences.
For more, see The New Year Festival of the Dong Ethnic People.
Recommended Tours:
China Highlights has developed several Guizhou tours. Travel with us to explore the colorful minority culture, your way:
If you have other interests, contact us and we will help you tailor-make a memorable festival tour.
China Festivals by Month