Holidays and Observances: |
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1: April Fool's Day. |
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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. |
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7: World Health Day. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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22: Earth Day. |
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23: World Book and Copyright Day |
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