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Chinese Holidays

Like most other countries, China celebrates New Year's Day on the 1st of January, and Labor Day on May 1st. An anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement took place in China on May 4, 1919. It marked the rise of Chinese patriotism and a re-evaluation of Chinese cultural institutions, such as Confucianism. China celebrates Youth Day on the 4th of May. This is held to commemorate May Fourth Movement.

July 1, 1921 marks the day of formation of first National Congress in China. Hence, July 1st is called CPC Founding Day. CPC stands for Communist Party of China. China celebrates the anniversary of Zheng He's first voyage on July 11 and is referred to as Maritime Day. August 1 is marked as Army Day in China. This day commemorates the Nanchang Uprising on August 1st, 1927. 1st October is the National Day of China and marks the birth of Public Republic of China (PRC) that took place on October 1, 1949.

First day of first lunar month is celebrated as Spring Festival or Chinese New Year based on the Chinese calendar. Lantern Festival is held on 15th day of the first lunar month. China celebrates Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, also called Duanwujie. It celebrates Double Seven Festival on 7th day of 7th lunar month. Both these festivals are based on Chinese calendar.

Double Seven Festival is the Chinese version of Valentine's Day. China celebrates Spirit Festival on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, and Double Ninth Festival on the 9th Day of the 9th lunar month. All these festivals are based on the Chinese calendar. China celebrates Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping Day in early April or in the fifth solar term, based on the Chinese calendar.

Civic holidays of China are New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Labor Day, and National Day. New Year's Day is a daylong holiday, while the other three are held for three days. In addition, adjoining weekends are adjusted in order to have a three-day holiday for New Year's Day and a seven-day holiday is given for each of the other three civic holidays.
 

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