Do you know how chinese people celebrate their festival?

Visiting relatives, eating and drinking too much, gambling, the usual.....

Dear cnpower,

Thanks for sharing your people's culture with us. Knowing different cultures brings us closer to understanding one another! A culture's festivals/holidays/observances are one of the most direct views into the ethos of that culture.

I look forward to your updates on this as the year progresses.

Mike

Thank you Mike.

The spring festival is the first and the most important traditional festival in a year. By the time, almost all of members in a family will come back home from outside working places to celebrate togather. There are varieties of entertainments to enjoy during the longest holiday. But today more and more people like to travel to numerous tourist attractions to feel the great nature, or go abroad to enjoy exotic culture.

But this year a strong heavy snow suddenly visited our south china unexpectedly. Traffic almost stops, So that we have to stay at home.

This New Year day is on 7^th Feb.

We have a longest holiday for the Spring festival. During the days, Chinese people eat traditional food " Jiaozi" (dumpling)

and set off firework or firecrackers. Very magnificence.

Our spring festival is in fact start at the last ten day in the December (Chinese lunar calendar, around Jan. ) and last until next middle ten day.

We call that day as lantern festival. By the day I shall introduce it. Wait and remember it.

In the good weather, we like to go to gallery to enjoy painters painting. I like our chinese painting and calligraphy, as well as west oil painting. I shall share here several works with you. Do you like them as well?

I wish I knew Chinese Calligraphy-Poetry-storytelling. Most moving.

I will love to collect a copy of the last Idyllic Mural.

Happy new Year CnPower and family and friends!

Very nice post,

Happy new lunar year to you and all Chinese people!

Best regards.

Thank you very much.

Occasionally we go to theater to watch drama performance. Its long long time for me not to theater that I almost forget this kind of art. This is typical Chinese ballet--<Red Detachment of woman>-- our proletarian arts. at my age, we call it, whereas some west ballet, like "Swan Lake" etc. capitalistic ballet. look at this photo, you must guess what name is it. ha-ha. I shall tell you more about our traditional local opera, especially Bejing opera, etc.

you must be suprising at chinese embroidery arts.

Hundreds of horses.

China and many other nations have been at "arms' length" for some time, which some might see as sad. Things are changing. It is good to share insights into other cultures. Celebrate the differences, until there is no difference.

"Half the world's problems are caused by people not talking to each other. The rest are caused by people not understanding each other."

It is good to share insights into other cutures. Thanks for doing it via the Forum.

Increasing communication mutually, reducing misunderstand each other is an important task in the world.

More pic welcome to add here.

Beautiful Flower.

The Sun is rising, The Peace is belonging to the world.

Different stage, different dancers, the same art.

新年快乐, cnpower.

I can say that I am well aware of Chinese products. I wanted to find a pair of jeans for my most precious Chinese "product", my wife. I didn't find, I wanted, in big letters, on the butt of the jeans to be written Made in China.

In the picture, the one on the left is a maya warrior (not Guan Gong) and the one on the right is a Chinese fisherman.

As we have started celebrating on Feb 6th, I understand that it was a long celebration for you, too, you found only now some few moments for CR4

Its very exciting to see Chinese words here!

Hope to see more here. Ha ha

Sorry I can't reply with any - would like to learn, but time is limited (only 24 hrs/day ).

I learnt a little katakana during my short stay in Japan (enough to check road, shop and hotel signs to ensure I was in the right place!), and didn't find it too difficult - but I was 25 years younger! Sadly, all forgotten now.

You can find chinese easily in Britain. and learn from them. you are still very younger guy and can learn fast.

only but chinese words are very hard to write.

That may be one of sino-britain students friendly intercourse projects. Every year there are such projects internationally.

they are from britain, america, canada, germany, europe and asia, africa etc.

We usually decorate our room by fresh flowers now.

Do you know this beautiful flower?

and this one?

My flat is not big, but lovely, warm and fragrance decorating with these flowers.

How do you decotate your family? Try to show us.

Today (21. Feb.) is our chinese the second tranditional important festival: Lantern Festival.

Our Spring festival is last until today. now, it means the Spring Festival is over. We shall begin to work regularly for the new year.

We eat 'TangYuan (dumpling)' and hang Red Lantern. Various kinds of lanterns are very good look. and Yuanxiao is very good to eat.

I forget to tell you. on the day we often to see the laterns show while guessing riddles written on the latern, very interesting. everyone would have prize if you would make out the corrent answer.

YuanXiao (dumpling) is very good to eat.

Make youself at home!

Last sunday. I stayed at home. the food price is going up. I decided to do some myself.

after preparing. I make a pan of steam bread. standard chinese bread. look

very successful.

This is the first time I make the bread. very delicious.

This chinese bread is very good at health than west toast bread.

Next time I shall introduce another festival "Qingming"

wait until 5th April.

...

QingMing festival is one of the important festival in our chinese. it s coming on 5th April usually. but this year it comes on 4th, one day ahead than usual.

On the day our chinese's very important activity is that hold a sacrifice ceremony in commemoration of our predecessor and ancestors.

another important activity is peasants begine to plan vegetable, melon, bean etc. so that we could have enough fresh vegetables in the year on our table.

wheat begin to grow up. all is green in the field. flowers are beautifully covered everywhere and people like to go to trip during the days. whether is very good for people to go around.

We are filled with wish and energy and vigor.

"...a sacrifice ceremony..."

Do you sacrifice things these days (if so, what)? - Or is it symbolic?

Hi,John Why do you deliberately take up the words? How do you describe the situation in the way of your britain style? We offer fresh fruits and food as oblation to remember our predecessor, ancestor and gods. and we are getting more and more into fashion to use fresh flower for them now. What else do you want to know?

Hi, cnpower, I was not being critical or derogatory, just curious. Please believe me, and accept my apologies if I seem to have been offensive or contentious.

The reason I took up the wording was that the primary definition of sacrifice given by dictionaries (Oxford English and Merriam-Webster, to name two well-known ones) usually involves killing an animal. I think this is what comes to most british peoples minds when the word is used in a ceremonial connection.

In the UK, the term offering would probably have been used in your situation.

Best regards, John.

I see.

you are right, offering is good than that word. but in ancientry, chinese people indeed to do in that way. you can see on screen or read on history noval. now is very different from that very old times. but people still use the word in different meaning.

I shouldnt not use that word. I shall remember it.

Next festival will be in next month

waiting...

Are these Black-necked Cranes?

are you zoologist? you put forward a difficult issue. I cannt distinguish these grus. haha. very sorry. What I put here is Grus japonensis, they are distributed in our northeast area and our eastasia area.

I cannt discriminate them as well. searching on the net. I was told that the bird I posted is belong to easy asia district, but the bird you said is from northwest chinese district. they are all belong to no.1 protected animal.

Hello cnpower,

I don't know how it happened but I completely missed this thread. As you might know, I am married to a Chinese lady and as such have more than just a passing interest in your culture. I have been to China several times both for work and for holiday.

Thank you for your post, even though I was not part of the growing of it, I still enjoyed reading it.

Without wanting to draw the attention away from the fantastic ways the Chinese celebrate their festivals, I for one really hope deep down that China will find a way to reconcile their political stance as perceived by foreign countries and that the latest news flashes will not over-shadow the Olympic Games.

Hello, case491 as a chinese son-in-law you must know most of our social convention. you can introduce your seeing and hearing in china to all in the view of a foreign traveller. I wish your participation. What cities have you ever been in china? Political affair is of government, is of politicans. it has nothing to do with us. I know olympic games will be hold in this Augest in beijing. But I dont know what new events will take place to over-shadow this games? today is not 1st April, you must make a kidding to me.

The 8th June is one of our important traditional festival: "DuanWu festival"

This festival can be dated back to more than 2000 years ago , when people remembered their respectable and famous poet Qu yuan, who was living in Chu region where belong to today's Hubei province in the south of China. He was a great patriotic personage and was persecuted by authorities.

Since then, every year our chinese make Zongzi ( one food which the stuff is sticky rice wrapped by leaf of bamboo or read) and play game of dragon boat race on the river to remember him. and we call it "Duan wu jie"

From this year, we shall have a holidy on the day.

I shall be blamed I cannt recite his poem wholely today, although I know his poem's name and many sentences of the peoms.

Remembering Quyuan is prompting you love motherland and your people.

Zigui and Miluo river

Oranges.

Sept. 14th this year is our mid-autumn festival.

On the day, the moon is round in the sky. very most of our chinese people get together in their home to enjoy eating moon cake as well as other fruits.with family members, Autumn is a havest season. vegetable and fruit were picked up.

this is our moon cake. enjoy eating them with us.

Chang'e, a beautul young lady who admired moon palace life, she ate god medicine and fly into the moon.

there is a cherry bay in the moon.

October 1st is National Day.

We often have a long holiday for the celebration.

People celebrate on the square throughout the night.

I'm a bit late finding this nice thread - maybe I can be early for another celebration....

I hope I understood it right, that Your Double Ninth featival is in what we call October. Celebrate the elderly, yes ? We should have the same in the West.

Kris

We call it " Chong yang festive" . Its on 7th Oct.( chinese calendar: 9th Sept.)

It is a festival of respecting old persons and remember ancestor. Many oversea chinese wish to back home town to get tother with their parents, brother and sistor on that day.

遥知兄弟登高处,遍插茱萸少一人

shanzhuyu

Today is our another festival, winter solstic. on which we eat Jiaozi( dumpling). Its also the mid winter season. After this day, the day will become longer and the weather will be colder. and the new year will be soon.

Hi, cnpower,

My daughter copied this from the whiteboard at school - her teacher told her it meant Happy (or Merry) Christmas.

Is it anywhere near correct?

Right, its Merry Christmas.

chinese pronounciation is " sheng dan kuai le"

kuai le means happy, pleaseue,

it s obviously writen by children themself on the board. naive, lovely.

In the city, more white collar class begin this west festival. the display window of shops along both sides of street are decorated this slogan.

Tomorrow will be Chrismas day in the west countries, but most of main big cities in China begin to have this Yankee festival. we call alll that converstions from the west is Yankee things.

Tomorrow will be the new year day. Our chinese people celebrate this festival, too.

Tonight, many famous theaters like state grand theater etc. are playing concert for the new year at present, just like the Golden Hall in vienna playing annual concert.

We have a holiday as well.

Of cause, our chinese traditianl spring festival is coming soon.

New Year, New Plan, New Resolution. Wish we all live well.

Now you know our chinese convention. Can anybody out there will like to introduce your own nation's convention to me, too?