Kah-Ji
CHINESE FESTIVALS AND OBSERVANCES IN 1925
xix.
1925
Jan.
XII. Moon
6
12
17
23
18
24
20
26
Yueh-Chau
24
I. Moon 1
Feb. 4
7
12 15
19
24
25
3
Mar, 6
12
7
13
13
19
21
26
Apr. 5
15
20
27
Slight Cold.
Worship of the god of the hearth at nightfall.
The god of the hearth reports to heaven. Great Cold.
Chinese New Year's Day.
Beginning of Spring.
Feast of Lanterns, Fête of Shang-yuen, ruler of heaven. Coming of Rain.
II. Moon 2 Mencius born, B.C. 371. Fête of the gods of land.
27
Fête of the god of literature, worshipped by students. Excited Insects.
I
Fête day of Hung-shing, god of the Canton river, powerful to preserve-
people from drowning, and for sending rain in times of drought. Fête of Kwanyin, goddess of mercy.
Vernal Equinox.
III. Moon 3 Fête of Hiuen T'ien Shang-ti, the supreme ruler of the sombre heavens
and of Peh-te, Tauist god of the North Pole.
13
23
28'
Tsing-ming or Tomb Festival; on this day people worship at their
ancestors' graves.
Fête of Tien Heu, Queen of Heaven, Holy mother, goddess of sailors. Corn Rain.
May 6 IV. Moon 14 Beginning of Summer.
17 29
Inter. IV.
Fête of Kin Hwa, the Cantonese goddess of parturition. Small Fullness.
Sprouting Seeds.
9
21
June 6
Moon 16
22
V. Moon 2
Summer Solstice.
25
5
July 3
13
5
15
8
18
23
VI. Moon
Aug. 8
13
19
19 24
National fête day. Dragon boat festival and boat races. National fête of the son of Kwân Ti, god of war.
Anniversary of the Formation of Heaven and Earth. Slight Heat.
Great Heat.
Beginning of Autumn. Fête of the Goddess of Mercy. Fete of Kwan Ti, god of war.
VII. Moon 1 First day of the seventh moon. During this moon is held the festival of all
souls, when Buddhist and Tauist priests read masses to release souls from purgatory, scatter rice to feed starving ghosts, recite magic incantations accompanied by finger play imitating mystic Sanskrit characters which are supposed to comfort souls in purgatory, burn paper clothes for the benefit of the souls of the drowned, and visit family shrines to pray on behalf of the deceased members of the family. Exhibitions of groups- of statuettes, dwarf plants, silk festoons, and ancestral tablets are com- bined with these ceremonies, which are enlivened by music and fireworks. Heat Abating.
Fête of the seven goddesses of the Pleiades, worshipped by women. Fête of Chung Yuen, god of the element earth.
White Dew.
Fête of the god of wealth.
Fête of Ti Ts'ang-wang, the patron of departed spirits.
24 25
6
7
Sept. 5
15
8
21
9
22
17
30
VIII. Moon
23
6
Autumnal Equinox.
Oct. 2
15
9
22
Cold Dew.
12
25
14
27
National fête day. Worship of the moon, and Feast of Lanterns.
Fête of the god of the Sun.
Fête of Confucius (born 552 B.C.), the founder of Chinese ethics and politics
24 IX. Moon 7 Frost Descent.
26
9
Nov. 8
22
14
28
Chung Yang Festival, kite-flying day; people on this day worship at their
ancestors' graves and ascend mountains for pleasure.
Beginning of Winter.
Fête day of Hwa Kwang, the god of fire.
23 X. Moon 8 Slight Snow.
30
Dec. 7 22
15
22
Fête day of Ha Yuen, the god of water. Heavy Snow,
XI. Moon 7 Winter Solstice.