Major Traditional Chinese Festivals
The real celebration of Spring Festival last over a month. It starts on Laba Festival (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month) runs through the Preliminary Eve (the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month), New Year’s Eve, Near Year’s Day, and terminates on Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month)
Duanwu Festival (Also known as Dragon Boat Festival)
The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The focus of the celebrations includes eating zongzi, or rice dumping, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.
The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC 278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty.[6] A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason.[6] During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body.[6] This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.
The Seventh Eve (Also Known as Chinese Valentines Day)
In China, the seventh eve of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is celebrated in the same way as Valentine's Day in Western world. It was originated in a beautiful love story between Niulang, a cowboy, and Zhinu, a daughter of Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven in Daoism. The two fell in love and got married, but Zhinus mother, the queen of heaven, did not approve their bond. With a swift move of her hairpin, the queen separated the two lovers with a river in the sky, known today as the Milky Way. Niulang turned into the star Altair and Zhinu turned into the star Vega. However, the queen took some pity on them and gave them one night of the year to spend together. On the seventh Eve of the seventh month, the queen would send magpies to form a bridge between them so that they could meet. 
Moon Festival is on the 15th day of the eighth month of lunar calendar. Its usually in late September, or early October, very close to Canadians Thanksgiving Day. On the night of Moon Festival, the moon is full, which has the symbolic meaning for family gathering. Usually after dinner, the whole family, sometimes including 4 generations, would sit in the backyard to appreciate the beautiful moon. They usually lay out some moon shape fruits and nuts to eat, such as watermelons, grapes, apples, peaches, chestnuts, walnuts, etc, and moon cake is imperative at this moment.
According to Chineses fairy tales, there is a lady named Changer in the moon. She used to live on the earth with her hu*****and, Houyi. Houyi was a very good anchor. There were once 10 suns in the sky. People on earth suffered from draughts. So Houyi shot down 9 suns. Having saved a lot of peoples life, Houyi was rewarded with two elixirs of immortality by a goddess. Taking one elixir would turn a human being into an Immortal. Taking two would turn a human being to a Celestial. Houyi wished both he and his wife can have one elixir so that they all became immortal. However, for some unknown reason, Changer ate two elixirs while her hu*****and was not at home. At once, she flew into the moon, where she left a lonely life ever after with a small white bunny. If you watch carefully on Moon festival, you could see Changer, and her bunny. 
Moon Festival (Also Known as Mid-Autumn Festival)
Chinese New Year is on the first day of the lunar year. Before Chinese New Years Eve, Chinese people clean their houses thoroughly to sweep away bad luck of the previous year. Then they decorate their house with upside down Fu character (with symbolic meaning of blessing arrived’), paper-cuts, spring couplets, and postings.
On New Years Eve, family stay together to have a big dinner. Dumplings are imperative due to its shape of Chinese gold ingots (a symbolic meaning of wealth). At 12:00am sharp, tons of fireworks are sent into sky to welcome the New Years arrival.
In the morning of New Years Day, Kids would greet elders, and elders would give kids red packets filled with cash. On Chinese New Year, friends would visit each other, and wish each other good luck for the coming new year.
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