This is a big week in China, as the country celebrates two of its most important holidays. Millions upon millions of people are traveling to enjoy this Golden Week (黄金周 – huáng jīn zhōu). This year it’s extra special, as both National Day (国庆节 – guó qìng jié) and Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節 – zhōng qiū jié) are happening in the same week. Let’s learn a bit more about these two traditional Chinese holidays.

National Day

China celebrates its National Day on October 1st. This year marks the 68th anniversary of the founding of the modern day People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong in 1949. Believe it or not, you can actually watch this historic occasion on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/Nvmf46_S7Po

In that famous address given in Tiananmen Square, it’s said that Mao proclaimed:

中国人民站起来了
zhōng guó rén mín zhàn qǐ lái le
The Chinese people have stood up.

It was a great slogan for the Communist Party as they sought to unify the country. They had stood up to the Japanese invaders, to the Kuomintang, and to meddling westerners. There’s just one little problem with that slogan, though – apparently Mao never really said it.

Whether or not he actually said that back in 1949, National Day is still celebrate with patriotic fervor each and every October 1st. A huge crowd of people converges on Tiananmen to watch the flag-raising ceremony at sunrise.

Show your real patriotism by learning the Chinese national anthem, called  “March of the Volunteers” (义勇军进行曲 – yì yǒng jūn jìn xíng qǔ):

Chinese

起来！不愿做奴隶的人们！
把我们的血肉，
     筑成我们新的长城！
中华民族到了最危险的时候，
每个人被迫着发出最后的吼声。
起来！起来！起来！
我们万众一心，
冒着敌人的炮火，前进！
冒着敌人的炮火，前进！
前进！前进！进！

Pinyin

Qǐ lái! Bú yuàn zuò nú lì de rén men!
Bǎ wǒ men de xuè ròu,
     zhù chéng wǒ men xīn de cháng chéng!
Zhōng huá mín zú dào liǎo zuì wēi xiǎn de shí hòu.
Měi ge rén bèi pò zhe fā chū zuì hòu de hǒu shēng.
Qǐ lái! Q ǐlái! Qǐ lái!
Wǒ men wàn zhòng yì xīn,
Mào zhe dí rén de pào huǒ, qián jìn!
Mào zhe dí rén de pào huǒ, qián jìn!
Qián jìn! Qián jìn! Jìn!

English

Arise, we who refuse to be slaves;
With our very flesh and blood
     let us build our new Great Wall!
The peoples of China are at their most critical time,
Everybody must roar defiance.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of people become one,
Braving the enemy’s gunfire, March on!
Braving the enemy’s gunfire, March on!
March on! March on, on!

 

All across the country, there have been several other impressive displays of patriotism, from school children to farmers:

Now that National Day has come and gone, it’s time to get ready for another important Chinese holiday.

Mid-Autumn Festival

This traditional holiday falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, on a bright full moon. Similar to Thanksgiving, this harvest festival is all about gathering with family members for a feast and to enjoy the beautiful full moon. If one cannot make it home for the holiday, they can gaze up at the moon and think of their loved ones.

When it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival feast, the most important thing on the table are the delicious moon cakes (月饼 – yuè bǐng). Moon cakes come in all different flavors, shapes, and sizes. Learn all about them in this short video:

There are a few interesting legends about the history of the festival and the lunar pastries. Check out our previous post on Mid-Autumn Festival to learn more.

Since you learned the national anthem for one holiday, why not learn a traditional Chinese poem for this one? It’s called “Thinking on a Quiet Night” (静夜思 – jìng yè sī) by Li Bai (李白):

床 前 明 月 光	chuáng qián míng yuè guāng	Moonlight shining through the window
疑 是 地 上 霜	yí shì dì shàng shuāng	Makes me wonder if there is frost on the ground
举 头 望 明 月	jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè	Looking up to see the moon
低 头 思 故 乡	dī tóu sī gù xiāng	Looking down I miss my hometown

You can even follow along and practice it with this super silly video:

https://youtu.be/gy3aO2UAM4I

Have you celebrated either of these holidays in China? What was your experience like? Leave a comment below!