China Calendar for Year 2011

China Internet Information Center

February 2011

Holidays and Observances:

2: Lunar New Year’s Eve, the last day of each lunar year. Includes such traditional activities as pasting New Year's couplets on doorframes and New Year's pictures on doors or walls, offering sacrifices to ancestors, having a family reunion dinner, staying up to see the old year out and usher in the new, and giving children gifts of money.

2: World Wetland Day.

3: Spring Festival (Chinese New Year’s Day), 1st of the first lunar month, three days off.

14: Valentine’s Day.

17: Lantern Festival, 15th of the 1st lunar month, marking the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a display of colorful lanterns and eating of yuanxiao, glutinous rice dumplings.

17-21: Dancing Festival, the largest sacrificial ceremony observed by the Jingpo ethnic group of Yunnan Province. For four or five days following the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, people wear festive clothing and dance to the accompaniment of drums and gongs, firing guns in celebration.

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 longer holidays during the year, the Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding or following the extended holiday are official workdays. In 2011, there are six official working Saturdays and Sundays respectively on January 30 (Sunday), February 12 (Saturday), April 2 (Saturday), October 8 (Saturday), October 9 (Sunday) and December 31 (Saturday).

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 4 or 5 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 5 or 6 June 21 or 22 June 7 or 8 July 22 or 23 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 22 or 23 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 22 or 23 November 7 or 8 December 21 or 22 December 5 or 6 January 20 or 21 January