Four major festivals are known to all. They are: the Chinese New Year), the Clear and. Bright Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-autumn Festival.

The Chinese New Year is the most lavish. Its festivities are too numerous to cite here. We want to emphasis two points only. First, it is the most important festival reserved for the family. Second, some new customs are e-merging, examples are travel and live TV transmissions of celebrations.

Travel is a new dimension of the festival. Some families have the leisure and means to allow themselves this new indulgence. Southerners go up to Harbin to see the Ice Sculpture Festival , Northeners flock down to the southern coast and Hainan province to enjoy the sea, sand and sun.

Central TV and local TV stations vie to live transmit New Year celebrations. This TV fashion has become an irresistible lure for more than one decade. It is an in-dispensable part of family and social life.

For international visitors, this is the best time to know Chinese folk culture.
The Clear and Bright Festival has various other names : the Memorial Festival, the Spring Excursion Festival, the Cold Dish Festival. It is a time for mourning the dead, however it is not a time for sorrow. Chinese philosophy encourages people to celebrate both life and death as joyous occasions. So it is an occasion for family outings and sports as well. This Cold Dish Festival has two origins. One is a legacy of primitive fire worship. In ancient times, a primitive tribe would keep a perpetual fire, which must be renewed every spring to mark a new cycle of life. This was a sacred juncture, but the merrymaking Chinese did not like to mark it with fast. Instead, they only stopped using fire for cooking for a couple of days. Cold dishes were used as substitutes for fast.

The other origin of the Cold Dish Festival is a story of loyalty and negligence. It is about a king and a loyal minister 2600 years ago. Before the King succeeded the throne, he was forced into exile. The most loyal official of the then prince in exile once went so far as to cut out a piece of flesh from his leg to save the starved prince. After he came to the throne , everyone who had gone through thick and thin with him was rewarded with an important position. But the negligent king forgot the most loyal Jie Zitui, who happened to be a very pious son. He and his mother lived a secluded life in deep mountains, refusing the repeated plea of the regretful king, who wanted to offer him the greatest reward yet. In desperation, the king ordered the mountain set afire, hoping to force the pious son and his mother to come out of the hiding place. But mother and son would rather die than come out. So they were burned to death together. The sorrowful king then ordered a cold food festival in honor of this loyal minister and pious son Jie Zitui.

Another sad story is found in the Dragon Boat Festival in honor of a patriotic poet of world status and stature. This is Qu Yuan who had fallen into disfavor of his king surrounded by evil ministers and spies from the most powerful and war-like state of Qin. Qu Yuan was forced into exile. He saw impending fall of his beloved country. In desperation he drowned himself in a river. To commemorate him, the people on the river rowed dragon boats to find his soul and threw food into the water to feed fish in an attempt to prevent his body from being eaten by them.

There are many elements in this festival, but the patriotic tradition has remained the most important one among them.

The Mid-autumn Festival is also rich in cultural traditions. We will only point out three here.

First, it is also called the Moon Festival. Moon worship for a long time was important. There are so many mythical figures in the moon.

The immortal goddess Chang'e, who has ascended to the moon and lived lonely in the cold moon palace; the lonesome god Wugang, the magical tree, the toad and the rabbit-" The festival night is the best of the year to see them well.

Second, it is also called the Mooncake Festival. The roundness of the cake symbolizes unity and reunion of the family, mellowness and harmony of family life.

Third, a great tradition of Chinese art and literature is lamenting the moon. The brightest moon of the year makes one homesick and nostalgic. The approaching winter makes one sad and melancholy. The first fallen leaves and the southbound migratory birds remind one of the relentless cycle and transience of life.