Festival date rules at a glance
Chinese festival dates in 2026 and 2027
Chinese festivals do not all follow the same dating rule. The calendar is lunisolar, combining lunar months with a solar framework that keeps the year aligned with the seasons. Chinese New Year is set by a lunar month and day; Qingming is set by a solar term. The She observances also use solar terms, but count days using the daily stem cycle.
The tables below list observances that fall within Gregorian 2026 and 2027, using the Chinese calendar's UTC+8 reference dates. Fixed lunar-date festivals use the regular month, not a leap month. Chinese New Year falls on February 17, 2026, and February 6, 2027; Mid-Autumn falls on September 25, 2026, and September 15, 2027. These are festival dates, not public-holiday periods.
Festival dates in 2026
| Festival or observance | Calendar rule | Gregorian date in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Laba | Lunar month 12, day 8, in the closing Chinese year | January 26 |
| Chinese New Year | Lunar month 1, day 1 | February 17 |
| Lantern Festival | Lunar month 1, day 15 | March 3 |
| Longtaitou | Lunar month 2, day 2 | March 20 |
| Qingming | Qingming solar term, solar longitude 15° | April 5 |
| Shangsi and third-month-third observances | Lunar month 3, day 3 in the fixed-date tradition | April 19 |
| Dragon Boat Festival, Duanwu | Lunar month 5, day 5 | June 19 |
| Qixi | Lunar month 7, day 7 | August 19 |
| Zhongyuan | Lunar month 7, day 15; surrounding observances can span the month | August 27 |
| Mid-Autumn | Lunar month 8, day 15 | September 25 |
| Double Ninth | Lunar month 9, day 9 | October 18 |
| Hanyi | Lunar month 10, day 1 | November 9 |
| Winter Solstice Festival | Dongzhi solar term, solar longitude 270° | December 22 |
Festival dates in 2027
| Festival or observance | Calendar rule | Gregorian date in 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Laba | Lunar month 12, day 8, in the closing Chinese year | January 15 |
| Chinese New Year | Lunar month 1, day 1 | February 6 |
| Lantern Festival | Lunar month 1, day 15 | February 20 |
| Longtaitou | Lunar month 2, day 2 | March 9 |
| Qingming | Qingming solar term, solar longitude 15° | April 5 |
| Shangsi and third-month-third observances | Lunar month 3, day 3 in the fixed-date tradition | April 9 |
| Dragon Boat Festival, Duanwu | Lunar month 5, day 5 | June 9 |
| Qixi | Lunar month 7, day 7 | August 8 |
| Zhongyuan | Lunar month 7, day 15; surrounding observances can span the month | August 16 |
| Mid-Autumn | Lunar month 8, day 15 | September 15 |
| Double Ninth | Lunar month 9, day 9 | October 8 |
| Hanyi | Lunar month 10, day 1 | October 29 |
| Winter Solstice Festival | Dongzhi solar term, solar longitude 270° | December 22 |
For a lunar festival in another year, use the date converter and enter the relevant Chinese calendar year with the month-and-day rule from the table. Qingming and Dongzhi are different: look up that year's solar-term date rather than a fixed lunar day.
Cold Food and the She observances need a different approach:
| Observance | Dating method | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Food, Hanshi | Associated with the days before Qingming, often placed on the preceding day | Historical timing and duration vary |
| Spring She | Fifth Wu day on or after Beginning of Spring’s calendar date in the Atlas convention | Wu is the fifth heavenly stem and repeats every ten days |
| Autumn She | Fifth Wu day on or after Beginning of Autumn’s calendar date in the Atlas convention | A Wu day containing the solar term is included in the count |
To calculate either She date under this convention, find the first qualifying Wu day and count forward forty days to the fifth. Local ritual calendars may arrange the observance differently.
When is Chinese New Year's Eve?
New Year's Eve is the last day before lunar month 1 begins, so it is not always lunar day 30. The eves before New Year 2026 and 2027 are February 16, 2026, and February 5, 2027. Both are lunar month 12, day 29.
Laba on January 26, 2026, and January 15, 2027, likewise belongs to the Chinese calendar year already underway. The Gregorian year has changed by then, but Chinese New Year has not yet arrived.
Leap months
Because a leap month repeats an existing month number, a month and day alone do not uniquely identify a lunar date. In 2025, regular month 6 began on June 25, and leap month 6 began on July 25. A complete date needs the Chinese year, month number, regular-or-leap designation and day.
In these tables, fixed lunar-date festivals refer to the regular month. A repeated month does not automatically add a second festival entry. Household anniversaries and temple ceremonies may follow their own rules for leap months, so record the relevant convention alongside the date. This keeps the calendar calculation separate from the choice of when to observe the occasion.
Observances and event dates
A traditional festival, a public holiday and a local event can have different dates. The festival follows its observance rule, while a public holiday is a day off designated by a particular jurisdiction. A fair, parade or performance follows the organiser's schedule and may run for several days or take place on a convenient weekend.
Why are Chung Yeung's 2026 festival and holiday dates different?
Double Ninth, also called Chongyang or Chung Yeung, falls on Sunday, October 18, 2026. In Hong Kong, the general holiday is Monday, October 19, the day after the festival, because the festival falls on Sunday. That substitute day off does not change the traditional observance on lunar month 9, day 9. When planning leave or travel, check the relevant jurisdiction's holiday calendar as well as the festival date.
When recording an observance, keep its calendar rule, its Gregorian date for the chosen year and any local event dates separate. Give the time zone alongside any solar-term clock time: the same instant can fall on different local calendar dates.