Christine Canning

So you are coming to work in China, perhaps a teacher, then you are likely to want to know about public holidays.  China has seven legal holiday periods a year.  They are: (i) New Year's Day, (ii) Chinese New Year, commonly known as Spring Festival, (iii) Qingming Festival, commonly known as Tomb Sweeping Day, (iv) May Day commonly known as Labour Day holiday, (v) Dragon Boat Festival, (vi) Mid-Autumn Day commonly known as Moon Festival and (vii) National Day.

Two of the above, Chinese New Year and National Day are known as Golden Weeks, because they come with seven continuous days of holidays.  For both Chinese New Year and National Day three paid holidays are recognised and the surrounding weekends are re-arranged nationally, so that workers in Chinese companies have a seven continuous day break.  These Golden Week holiday periods were primarily intended to help expand the domestic tourism market and provide opportunities for workers to make long-distance home visits to their families

As a teacher these extended holiday periods are great, because you have a chance to get out and explore China.  However; the Golden Weeks are consequently periods of greatly heightened travel activity, so get ready to make travel plans with about 600 million Chinese people who travel domestically during these holiday periods.  One obvious tip is to prepare early, because if you dont you may find there are no tickets, or perhaps there are only standing train tickets left which can be mighty uncomfortable. 

One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is making up the additional two days that are not recognised as official holidays during the Golden Weeks.  This means you are likely to find yourself working for a continuous seven day period, either before or after the Golden Week holiday, depending on when the holiday falls within the week. 

Like in most countries public holidays are steeped in history, culture and tradition.  In China its no different.  For Chinese New Year you are likely to see scrolls with the good luck character 'Fu' posted on front doors and the well-known traditional setting-off of firecrackers to ward off evil spirits.  Its a time for making visits to family and friends and for eating jiaozi; a kind of Chinese dumpling, consisting of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping.

One festival that is culturally significant for Chinese families is Qingming Jie.  It is a time for cleaning the tomb and paying respect to deceased family relatives.  Weeds around the tomb are cleared away and fresh soil is added as a sign of respect.  The dead person's favourite food and wine are often taken to sacrifice to them, along with paper resembling money.  This is all burned in the hope that the deceased are not lacking food and money.  This festival is a combination of sadness and happiness, as its also a time for spring outings and flying kites.  Little lanterns are often tied to the kite, making it beautiful to view in the sky.  Whats really special is that people often cut the string while the kite is in the sky to let it fly free.  It is said this brings good luck and that diseases can be warded off by following this ritual.

Another very popular holiday is the Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month.  What is really good about this holiday is that it often coincides with the National Day Golden Week of holidays, so an extra day is frequently added to this holiday period.

Mid-Autumn Festival is also commonly known as Moon Festival, as at this time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest.  The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production.  Hence, to express their thanks to the moon and celebrate the harvest, moon cakes are offered as a sacrifice to the moon on autumn days.  Moon cakes come in various flavours according to the region and are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family.  Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.

If you are a foreigner coming to work in China, you may know about the dragon boat racing, as this sport is now popular in many western counties.  However; you may not know the history that surrounds it.  Many believe that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in ancient China and that it is based on the suicide of the poet Qu Yuan, a loyal minister of the King of Chu.  Qu Yuan was falsely accused of conspiracy and was exiled by the king.  After a period in exile and as a symbol of loyalty to the King, he drowned himself by attaching a heavy stone to his chest and jumping into the Miluo River.  He was 61.

It is said that the people of Chu tried to save him believing that Qu Yuan was an honourable man.  They searched desperately in their boats looking for him, but were unable to save him.  The local people threw cooked rice into the river for Qu Yuan, hoping that the rice would prevent the fish in the river from eating Qu Yuans body.  Every year the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated to commemorate this attempt at rescuing Qu Yuan.  It is also customary to eat steamed zongzi:- glutinous rice balls with a filling and wrapped in leaves. The fillings can be egg, beans, dates, fruits, sweet potato, walnuts, mushrooms, meat, or a combination of them.

So holidays in China are complicated and very unpredictable, given many are closely linked to the lunar calendar and the national reorganising of work schedules and timetables resulting from the Golden Weeks.  However, these holiday periods are celebrated in style and gusto by Chinese people, given many Chinese workers get very few holidays outside of these officially recognised ones.  So if you do decide to take up the challenge of working in China, it is not likely to be too long till you are eating jiaozi; moon cakes and zongzi along with the thousands of other foreign workers who for now call China home.