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Why does the Chinese Festivals tend to be celebrated on different dates every year?
This is because the festival dates are calculated from the traditional
Chinese Calender, which is based on the calculated positions of both the
sun and moon. This calender is very different from the Gregorian Calender
that we are using today. We tend to percieve this difference as a shift in
the dates of one calender from the other.
There are also two groups of Chinese festivals with two different ways to
determine the day which we celebrate them.
The first are festivals celebrated on a specific date based on the
Chinese Calender. These are mostly festivals associated with certain people,
gods, or events. Chinese New Year (1st day of 1st lunar month) and Mid
Autumn Festival (15th day of eighth lunar month) falls into this group.
The second group are festivals celebrated to mark certain agriculture
events. The dates of these festival are based on "Jie Qi", or markers which
determine the position of Earth around the sun. The dates of these festivals
may shift from year to year within the Chinese Calender. "Dong Zhi" Festival
(Arrival of Winter) falls into this group.
