April 2007

China Internet Information Center

April 2007


Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

1	2 15th/2nd mo.	3	4	5 Pure Brightness	6	7

8	9	10	11	12	13	14

15	16	17 1st/3rd mo.	18	19	20 Grain Rain	21

22	23	24	25	26	27	28

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.

13-15: Water-Sprinkling Festival, the New Year celebration of the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan, and their most splendid festival. The celebration is usually held between April 13-15, 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.

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 2007, there are two official work weekends in April and September, and one divided in February.

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° 0° 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