holidays+and+festivals

=Chinese Holidays and Festivals= **Autumn Moon Festival The Autumn Moon Festival is commonly known as Mooncake Festival. The Moon Festival very a traditional Chinese Holiday that lies on the 15 day of the 8-month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The Chinese celebrate it on this day because they believe that when the moon is the roundest and the brightest of the year. The Moon Festival symbolize the family’s unity and the togetherness.

**Chinese Buddhist Holidays The Buddhist holiday is mainly a holiday to visit the Buddhist temples to give offerings such as prayers, incense, fruits, flowers and donations. Here is a list of Buddhist holidays. For example 1.1 means "First Day of the Lunar Moon."

8.12 — Buddha Sakyamuni's Enlightenment Day 30.12 — Avatamsaka Bodisattava's Day 1.1 — Maitreya Buddha's Birthda 9.1 — Sakra Devaraja's Brithday  8.2 — Sakyamuni's Renunciation Day 15.2 — Sakyamuni Buddha's Mahaparinirvana Day 19.2 — Birthday of Kuan Shih Yin P'usa 21.2 — Birthday of Pu Hsien P'usa 16.3 — Birthday of Cundi P'usa 23.3 — Birthday of Marichi Devata 4.4 — Birthday of Wen-shu P'usa 8.4 — Birthday of Buddha Sakyamuni 15.4 — Vesak Day 28.4 — Birthday of Yao-Wang P'ua (Bhaisajyaraja Bodhisattva) 3.6 — Birthday of Wei-to 10.6 — Birthday of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) 19.6 — Enlightenment Day of Kuan Shih Yin P'usa 13.7 — Birthday of Ta-Shih Chi P'sua 15.7 — Yu-lan-pen (Ullambana) Ceremony, for feeding hungry ghosts 30.7 — Birthday of Ti-tsang P'usa 28.8 — Birthday of Buddha Jan-teng (Dipankara Buddha) 19.9 — Kuan Shih Yin P'usa's Renunciation Day 30.9 — Birthday of Yao-shi Fwo (Bhaisajyaguru Buddha) 5.10 — Anniversary of the death of Ta-mo (Bodhidharma) 17.11 — Birthday of O-mi-to Fwo (Amitabha Buddha)

The Chinese New Year can also been known on as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. This holiday is very important to all of China and Chinese people around the world. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. The traditional way to prepare a Chinese New Year is to clean your house, decorate before the holiday and pass out red envelopes before the Chinese New Year. On the day of Chinese New Year the holiday is celebrated with firecrackers, lanterns, torches, because the Chinese believed it scares all of the evil sprits because they believe the evil sprits dislike noise and light. Also on the New Year there are dances called the Dragon Dance and the lion dance that is perform on the streets of China.
 * Chinese New Year

****Red Envelopes** The red envelopes are give out during the Chinese New Year. They symbolize good luck and the amount of money in the envelopes are always some sort of lucky number.

The Lantern Festival is on the 15th of the first month of the Chinese calendar. The Lantern Festival is known as the Little New Year because it marks the end of the series of celebration from Chinese New Year. The Lantern Festival is a Buddhist holiday, a holiday that is very common compared to Halloween. But instead of going out trick-or-treating, the children go out at night and carry bright ancient lanterns. For those who do no carry lanterns often watch the lantern parades, eat tang yuan, sweet rice dumplings soup, and guessing lanterns riddles.
 * The Lantern Festival**

The Ghost Festival is celebrated on on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. The Ghost Festival represents the connection between the living and the dead, earth and heaven and also body and soul. The 7th month is known as the Ghost Month because the Chinese believed that the ghost comes to earth to visit. The Ghost Festival rituals are offering food and burning money so the ghost will be will be please.
 * The Ghost Festival**