The Lantern Festival（元宵节）
The lunar January (农历正月）is the first month of a year and the 15th day is the first day of full moon.
The Lantern Festival can date back to Qin dynasty(221-206BC). It’s said that the Han emperor set up the Lantern Festival in order to commemorate “Ping Lu” .
Customs
Do shopping for the Spring Festival 办年货 Spring cleaning 扫尘 Paste Spring Festival Couplets，paper-cuts for window
decoration, New Year painting 贴春联、窗花、年画 Staying-up 守岁 light firecrackers 放爆竹 Pay New Year’s call 拜年 Have New Year’s Eve dinner 吃年夜饭
the day also commemorate Wu Zixu
and Cao E. 后因诗人屈原在这一天死去，便成了
中国汉族人民纪念屈原的传统节日；部分 地区也有纪念伍子胥、曹娥等说法。
customs
一． Hanging Pictures of Zhong Kui 二． Hanging Calamus and Moxa(挂菖蒲和艾草） 三． Dragon Boat Race 四． The Culture of Zongzi 五． Spice Bag 六． Realgar Wine
This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which see each other from afar. They are the Cowherd and Weaver Maid, and there is a beautiful love story about them passed down from generation to generation.
During Lantern Festival, people go along the street to watch lanterns（灯笼） and children light their own small lanterns for some fun. The biggest and most beautiful lantern is the dragon lantern, which looks like a flying dragon, held by several young guys. One with a ball in hand leads the dragon to move.
Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). His parents died when he was a child. Later he was driven out of his home by his sister-in-law. So he lived by himself herding cattle and farming. One day, a fairy from heaven Zhi Nv (Weaver Maid) fell in love with him and came down secretly to earth and married him. The cowhand farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove at home. They lived a happy life and gave birth to a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, the God of Heaven soon found out the fact and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back. With the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand flew to heaven with his son and daughter. At the time when he was about to catch up with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One billowy river appeared in front of the Cowhand. The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated on the two banks forever and could only feel their tears. Their loyalty to love touched magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother was eventually moved and allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month. Hence their meeting date has been called
Dragon boat race is an indispensable（不可缺少 的） part of the festival, held all over the country. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragonshaped canoes（独木舟） pulling the oars hurriedly, and speeding toward their destination with rapid
• Some lanterns have puzzles on them, called lantern
riddles（灯谜）, the one who gets the answer could receive small presents and be happy for his intelligence.
张 其 凤
•Spring Festival
• The Spring Festival, one of the most important ancient traditional festivals, as well as Chinese unique festival at the lunar calendar, is also called Chinese New Year. Since the Shun period（21 century BC), the Spring Festival custom has been extended till now. The Spring Festival generally refers to the New Year's Eve and the first month of the new year.
In China, the most traditional and popular Spring
Festival food is dumpling, which looks like the moon with vegetables and meat mixed in it. The Chinese name of dumpling is “JIAO ZI”, ”JIAO” means ”cross”, ”ZI” is Chinese traditional time represents “24:00”, so the Chinese word “JIAO ZI” means “cross 24:00”, just the dividing point of last year and next year. So when it comes to 24:00, every family begins eating dumplings.
• The traditional food for Lantern Festival is glutinous rice ball（元宵）. The glutinous rice ball’s shape is just like the full moon appears in the sky. This kind of dessert is especially welcomed by children.
元宵节的传统美食就是元宵啦。 元宵的形状就像是天空中的满月。 这种甜品，尤其受儿童的欢迎。
Tomb-Sweeping Day
• The Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice冬 至(or the 15th day after the Spring Equinox春分), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar 阳历(see Chinese calendar). Astronomically it is also a solar term节气. The Tomb-Sweeping Day falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qing Ming. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (踏青 Tàqīng, "treading on the greenery") and tend to the graves of departed ones.