China Calendar for Year 2008

China Internet Information Center

December 2008


Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

	1	2	3	4	5	6

7 Great Snow	8	9	10	11	12 15th/11th mo.	13

14	15	16	17	18	19	20

21 Winter Solstice	22	23	24	25	26	27 1st/12th mo.

28	29	30	31

Holidays and Observances:

1: World AIDS Day.

3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

5: International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development.

10: Human Rights Day.

12: Commemoration Day of Xi'an Incident.

13: Commemoration Day of Nanjing Massacre.

20: Anniversary of Macao Special Administrative Region

21: Winter Solstice, the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points falling on December 21 or 22 on the Gregorian calendar. In ancient China, it was believed that as the days grow longer, young, positive things become stronger and stronger. Chinese families usually celebrate it by eating dumplings or eating a dish made of red beans and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.

25: Christmas Day.

26: Birthday of Mao Zedong.

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 two week-long holidays during the year, the Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding or following the extended holiday are official workdays. In 2008, there are two official work weekends respectively in February and September, and one working Sunday in early May.

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

Traditional Chinese Festivals