beijing city guide: Events
Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, starts on the first day of the first moon according to the traditional lunar calendar. The Chinese New Year will fall on the following dates: 16 February 1999, 5 February 2000, 24 January 2001 and 12 February 2002. Although officially lasting only three days, many people take a week off work. Beijing is probably at its prettiest on the first of May, a holiday for Communists and officially known as International Labor Day. During this time, the whole city (especially Tiananmen Square) is decorated with flowers.
The Lantern Festival is also a relatively colorful time to visit Beijing. People take the time to walk the streets at night carrying colored paper lanterns. It falls on the 15th day of the 1st moon. Tomb Sweep Day is a day for worshipping ancestors; people visit the graves of their dearly departed relatives and clean their gravesites. They often burn 'ghost money' (for use in the afterworld) for the departed. It falls on 5 April in the Gregorian calendar in most years; 4 April in leap years. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Moon Festival and is the time to eat tasty moon cakes. The festival takes place on the 15th day of the 8th moon.
< back | next >
© 1999 Lonely Planet Publications Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved
|
|
|
