China Internet Information Center
April 2006
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
            1
2 3 4 5
Pure Brightness
6 7 8
9 10 11 12
15th/3rd mo.
13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20
Grain Rain
21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28
1st/4th mo.
29
30          

Holidays and Observances:
1: April Fool's Day.
5: Pure Brightness Festival. Marks the 5th seasonal division point and usually falls on April 5 or 6; a traditional festival for commemorating the dead.
7: World Health Day.
12: Flower Fair of the Nu ethnic group (also called Fairy Maiden's Festival) held on the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month. The Nu people living around Gongshan, Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, dress in costumes adorned with flowers and offer blossoms to the stone statue in the Fairy Maiden Cave on Mount Gaoligong. A party inside the cave featuring food and drink, and song and dance follows.
12-17: Annual Fair of the Bai People, held at the foot of Diancang Mountain to the west of Dali city in Yunnan. Primarily a trading fair that lasts from the 15th to the 20th of the 3rd lunar month, peripheral activities include horseracing, archery contests, and music and dance performances.
Water-Sprinkling Festival, the New Year celebration of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan, and their most splendid festival. The celebration usually starts 10 days after Pure Brightness, with people sprinkling water over each other as a token of blessing. Among the young, the sprinkling often escalates into splashing and sometimes complete drenching. Other activities include dragon boat racing and fireworks.
18: Worship at Genghis Khan's Tomb, held by the Mongolian ethnic minority four times a year, on the 21st of the 3rd lunar month, 15th of the 5th lunar month, 12th of the 9th month and 3rd of the 10th month. Activities on the day of worship also include horseracing.
20: Birthday of Mazu, goddess of the sea. In the days immediately before and after the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month, people in southeast China's coastal areas honor the goddess with celebrations and rituals.
22: Earth Day.
23: World Book and Copyright Day
Notes:
1. In the traditional calendar, the new moon indicates the first day of a lunar month; the full moon marks the 15th day.
2. Dates in red are official holidays. To give workers three week-long holidays during the year, the Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding or following the extended holiday are official workdays. In 2006, there are an official work weekend in April, and two divided between late January and early February and between late September and early October.
3. The 24 Seasonal Division Points:
Order & Name of Seasonal Division Point Sun's Position at Ecliptic Gregorian Calendar Date
Spring 1.Beginning of Spring
2.Rain Water
3.Waking of Insects
4.Vernal Equinox
5.Pure Brightness
6.Grain Rain
315°
330°
345°

15°
30°
4 or 5 February
19 or 20 February
5 or 6 March
20 or 21 March
5 or 6 April
20 or 21 April
Summer 7.Beginning of Summer
8.Grain Budding
9.Grain in Ear
10.Summer Solstice
11.Slight Heat
12.Great Heat
45°
60°
75°
90°
105°
120°
5 or 6 May
21 or 22 May
6 or 7 June
21 or 22 June
7 or 8 July
23 or 24 July
Autumn 13.Beginning of Autumn
14.Limit of Heat
15.White Dew
16.Autumnal Equinox
17.Cold Dew
18.Frost's Descent
135°
150°
165°
180°
195°
210°
7 or 8 August
23 or 24 August
7 or 8 September
23 or 24 September
8 or 9 October
23 or 24 October
Winter 19.Beginning of Winter
20.Slight Snow
21.Great Snow
22.Winter Solstice
23.Slight Cold
24.Great Cold
225°
240°
255°
270°
285°
300°
7 or 8 November
23 or 22 November
7 or 8 December
22 or 23 December
5 or 6 January
20 or 21 January
Traditional Chinese Festivals
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