Hello readers!

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday marked the celebration of 国际劳动节 (International Labor Day).  In China, it’s a legally-mandated 节日 (holiday) where people in nearly all non-essential industries are permitted to 放假 (take vacation).  The general trend is that people go someplace outside of the city to 度假 (spend the holiday).  As for me, 哪里都没有去 (I didn’t go anywhere).  This was my first time being someplace where people celebrate this holiday, and people would ask me if people in America  过节 (celebrate the holiday) or not.  The only sticking point about this holiday is that two of the “vacation days” are moved on to the 周末 (weekend).  It would have been great if Monday were also a holiday- legitimately, it is 青年节 （youth holiday), but alas not this time.

What are some holidays that you celebrate at home that aren’t celebrated elsewhere?

Words

国际 guo2ji4 – international
劳动 lao2dong4 – labor
节 jie2 – holiday
放假 fang4jia4 – go on vacation (can be indefinite)
度假 du4jia4 – go on holiday (refers usually to a defined period)
过节 guo4jie2 – celebrate a holiday
周末 zhou1mo4 – weekend
哪里都没有去 na2(3)li3dou1mei2you3qu4 – [subject] didn’t go anywhere
青年节 qing1nian2jie2 – youth holiday