Consider adding some of these to your bucket list and I’m sure you’ll never regret the effort to cover them all!

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NOTE: Celebrating some of these festivals usually requires physically being in the country. If travelling that far is impossible, see if you can get to your local Chinatown or East Asian neighborhood on the date of the festival.

 CHINA

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival 春节, Seollal in Korea, ) is celebrated across the world by Chinese diaspora. In 2014 it will be celebrated on January 31 and the final day occurring on February 15- see the Lantern Festival below. This is the most exciting festival I’ve ever experienced. It feels like American 4th of July but more dangerous! Get a more detailed overview on this amazing festival here.

Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Festival 元宵节) happens on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year. It’s the last day to enjoy the chaos of constant fireworks in little villages around the Chinese mainland. To participate on this day you’ll first need to buy a large paper lantern with a candle, and write your wishes and dreams on it. Then you’ll open up the lantern and light the candle… Finally, let the wind carry it to heaven!

Tomb-Sweeping Day (Qing Ming Festival 清明节) will fall on April 5 in 2014 and is celebrated in order to remember and honor loved ones who have passed. It’s a solemn event that mostly takes place in cemeteries. Now, certainly this festival has a morbid tone, so why would I suggest participating in it? This is mainly because of the importance that filial piety (being a good son/daughter) plays in many Asian cultures. Without an appreciation of the people who came before us, how could we expect to be remembered when we are gone?

Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Festival 中秋节, Chuseok in Korea, ) is the Autumn harvest in the Chinese lunar calendar and will occur on September 8 in 2014. It’s a celebration of the moon at its fullest and in China it is celebrated by giving others moon cakes in decorative boxes.Observing the moon on that night is a wonderful experience if you are in East Asia mainly because ALL people will go out to parks or public areas for a picnic. It’s interesting to see people lay out blankets and eat snacks while playing games under the light of a full moon. It’s also a time to cast lanterns with wishes into the sky.

Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie 端午节) is celebrated around summer solstice (June 12, 2014) and is well-known across Asia because of the exciting dragon boat races held in many cities. Historically this day memorializes Qu Yuan, a minister who lived over two thousand years ago and drowned in a river. Preparing and eating zong zi is part of the tradition and, according to legend, represents the rice packets that were thrown into the river to distract the hungry fish surrounding his body… Enjoy!

KOREA

Seollal (설날) is the Lunar New Year holiday in Korea and is celebrated on the same day as other countries that traditionally use the Chinese Lunar calendar. It’s held on January 31 in 2014 and February 18 in 2015. It’s typically a 3-day family holiday in which many people return to their parents’s house for a meal and wish their elders a blessed new year by performing a deep traditional bow. Normally, the kids get an envelop of money for this, similar to Chinese culture.

Some women  will dress up in traditional Korean clothing called hanbok. The important dish to try during the Korean new year celebration is Tteokguk (soup with sliced rice cakes) and you can wash it all down with a rice wine called Soju (or even Baekseju) By the way, check out It Girl’s blog of Korean festivals too.

The Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeon Deung Hoe) is held in mid-May and is one of Korea’s oldest traditional festivals. It’s held to celebrate Buddha’s coming into this world, so basically its Buddha’s birthday celebration! Throughout the festival more than 100,000 lanterns are lit up and line the streets of Seoul. The lanterns are carefully constructed with Hanji, traditional Korean paper made from mulberry bark. Parades are an important part of this celebration which lasts 3 days. (May 6 in 2014)

JAPAN

Japanese New Year  (お正月, oshōgatsu) is celebrated on the same night as western New Years Eve, December 31st. Unlike many Americans who get together with family on Christmas, Japanese normally to ring in the new year at home. And a Japanese new year celebration wouldn’t be complete without special dishes called “osechi-ryōri”(see the photo gallery). These colorful and attractive dishes, each one symbolizing a different wish for the new year. Rocket News 24 has a great article depicting various osechi options. One very peaceful activity that foreign guests can enjoy is a temple visit after midnight or on January 1st. If the weather cooperates you can see people dressed in traditional clothing like a kimono (for women).

Bean-Throwing Festival (節分, Setsubun) is celebrated on the day before the beginning of Spring in Japan. It’s usually celebrated on February 3 as part of their Spring Festival. (春祭, haru matsuri) The activity is performed by the male head of the household or the man in the family who was born on the corresponding year of the Chinese zodiac. And what they do is throw beans out of the house or at family member wearing an Oni mask as a way to cast away demons and keep luck in. Native Foods’ blog has a great overview of the festival and more about the customs related to this Spring event.

Doll’s Day or Girls’ Day (雛祭り, Hina-matsuri) is held every March 3rd and coincides with the blossoming of peach and cherry trees across Japan. Hina-matsuri is a special day when families pray that their daughters grow up happy and healthy. This is celebrated by offering rice crackers and other foods to two dolls which look like the Emperor and Empress of the imperial court during the Heian period (794-1192). A display is setup much like how Christians display a manger scene for Christmas. But one superstition suggests that if the dolls and scenary are not put away immediately when the special day is over, the family will also slow to marry off their daughter later on.

Try combining this celebration with a visit to a Cherry blossom park (Hanami = flowering viewing) later in March or April. Cherry blossoms, or Sakura, are a Springtime experience not to be missed. It’s a must-see for anyone creating a bucket list! Cherry blossoms can be found in many countries around the world, but the feeling you get from visiting them in Northeast Asia is unparalleled.

Chinese New Year is definitely a global phenomenon, which allows me to add CNY to my ongoing series of “Understanding the World of…” articles! Since most Westerners living in towns with a population of at least a few thousand have a Chinese restaurant, I should be able to assume most readers have a passing knowledge of the Chinese Zodiac and the Lunar New Year. If you are pretty sure you know close to nothing about this ancient festival, then go ahead and read this entire post. Otherwise, feel free to skip to parts that interest you or could help you answer tough questions from friends about China. So, let’s get started!

Lunar Calendar Confusion: When is Chinese New Year? This question often gets funny eyebrows because it changes every year. The lunar calendar is based on 12 “lunations”, which means there are about 355 days in a year. But if that’s true, shouldn’t the calendars slowly drift apart wildly over time? (Think 10 less days per year…) Actually, modern lunar calendars add a 13th month after a certain number of years, in order to keep in some kind of synch with the solar calendar – this makes it “Lunisolar.” And so, the date for each year changes on the solar calendar. (See below)

Chinese Zodiac: I’m a Dog. (hahaha…) But seriously, I was born in the year of the dog and this could mean something about my personality to those who follow Shēng Xiào (生肖) or the Chinese Zodiac. Here are recent and future dates and their animals signs:

Ways to Celebrate (and where): As CNY is the most important holiday of the year for Chinese, you’d be right in assuming that families get together to celebrate. In fact, the greatest human migration on earth happens in mainland China around this time every year*. An estimated 3 billion+ trips will be made during the 2012 Chinese new year period of about 40 days*(Chinese Link).  ChinaHush has some interesting articles related to this event.

Fireworks! Most people leave the cities and return to their hometowns, which are often located tens of hours by train into the countryside. I have visited hometowns like this in Henan, Shaanxi, and Yunnan provinces. The fireworks are unbelievably fun, although quite dangerous. At this point in Chinese modern development, major cities have outlawed lighting fireworks except for special areas zoned for it.

New Year Dinner: After everyone finally gets home and enjoys the fireworks, they also get to have a big family meal on the eve of the first day in the new year. Chú Xī (除夕) is the night of great celebratory dinners called Nián Yè Fàn (年夜饭), something like “the last supper” of the year. All of the dishes are homemade and many of the ingredients come from the farms of family members or friends in the countryside. For important dinners like this, it is a common Chinese custom to have at least one dish of meat (like beef or pork), a chicken dish, and a fish. Each of these animals bring a special meaning to the meal because their chinese name sounds similar to an auspicious character. For example: Fish is “yú” or 鱼, which sounds like “yú” or 余, meaning extra or excess. Having a lot of “extra” represents a good harvest or hearty bounty.

CNY Customs: Setting off fireworks and enjoying a New Year dinner aren’t the only important customs at the Chinese New Year. Fresh red banners are posted at the front door every new year. These banners represent good fortune in the new year and ward off a monster called “nian.” There is an old tale about this monster which hates noise and the color read. “Guo nian” means to pass the new year, but from the story it basically means keeping this monster from entering your house at the new year. Because of the threat of this evil spirit, the family usually stays awake all night watching a New Year program on TV and eating snacks. Meanwhile a raucus of fireworks and firecrackers can be heard outside. It’s really an experience of a lifetime.

Sayings: For the language learners out there, or those who want to greet their Chinese friends properly, you can practice the following new years sayings in mandarin:

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái means “Congratulations and Prosperity”, a standard greeting during the new year month.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè  means “Happy New Year”, literally, and is very often said during the new year month.

Xīn Nián ān Kāng means “Peace and Good Health in the New Year”, and is a good way to toast at the new year dinner.

Lóng Nián Jí Xiáng means “Good Luck in the Year of the Dragon” and the animal changes every year, so make sure to check the year before saying this one.

Dragon Babies: Since I’m writing this in the very auspicious year of the Dragon, I thought I’d comment on the concept of dragon babies, and more importantly, being parents of a dragon baby. Age-old tradition suggests that the Chinese people are descendants of the mythological Dragon. Since this is the most important creature in the zodiac, it’s understandable that many families put great pressure on new couples to have a baby during this year. It’s not uncommon for a girl in her 20s to be married and with-child (in just a few months) in order to meet the deadline for dragon-baby making. And if you didn’t get your dragon baby this time, there’s always another chance 12 years later! ^.^