Although Hong Kong is a modern city, there are still a wide range of traditional Chinese Festivals to be celebrated. Now I am going to introduce some of them to you.

Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year is the most important festival. It is the time of universal celebration and the principal occasion of family reunion. It is also considered to be everybody's birthday and a renewal at the beginning of the year. On the New Year's Eve all family members will gather together and have their family dinner. On the New Year's Day, people always wear new clothes and make formal greetings to each other. They visit and be visited by one relatives & friends. It is also a chance for young people to collect red packets of lucky money. Any married couple who are greeted by unmarried one is expected to hand over a red packet. There may also have Dancing Lions, Unicorns and people let off firecrackers.

Yuen Siu Festvial (Spring Lantern Festvial)

Held at 15th of the Launar New Year. It is the first full moon of the new year so people bring out the lanterns and dispayed them in homes, shops, restaurants and temples during the festival. However it is not the main lantern celebration, the main one is take place during Mid-Autumn Festival . It is also known as Chinese Valentines's Day because it traditionally was the day on which young, unmarried women could wear their finest clothes and venture out with theirchaperones, hoping to meet an eligible young man.

Ching Ming Festival

The words "Ching Ming" mean "clear and bright". This is the time of year when most Chinese go to visit their family graves. The first activity of the visit is to clear away the weeds and repaint the inscriptions. Then incense sticks and red candles are lighted and rice, wine, tea & many other food set out. Paper clothing and spirit money are burned and the whole group kneels to pay respects. (They put palms together, finger straight and gently move their hands up and down. It is the proper gesture of respecting to the spirits.) Spirit Money: fake paper money are used in offerings to gods and spirits and give to them by burning. There are various kinds: squares of plain brownish paper; rectangles printed with "gold" and "silver" lines. They are all available at religious paper shops.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is in memory of a greatest Chinese poet, Wat Yuen. He did his best to advise the king, but his advice was rejected and he was dismissed from his post. He then ended up his life in throwing himself into a river. Villagers then took a boat to search him and they threw rice into the river in the hope that the fishes thereabouts would eat the rice instead of his body. Now, we are told the dragon boat race about on the water every year as if looking for Wat Yuen and people eats dumplings of sticky rice wrapped in leaves.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Moon Festival. People celebrate in different ways. For example, parents take their children to the nearest park after dinner. They settle down on the ground and light up small candles or lanterns around them. They eat moon cakes and enjoy the full moon. The Urban Council also organize lantern shows. The best known ones are at Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island. There are fortune telling, opera performances and stores selling goods.

Email me so we can continue to improve our homepage and provide the best information to you.