Hong Kong Chung Yeung Festival Holiday
Chung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong is a special day when people gather at their ancestor memorials. The day has been declared as a public holiday in the city of Hong Kong and Macau and most businesses and all schools are closed on the occasion. The festival has many names like Autumn Remembrance, Festival of High Places, and Double-Ninth. Just like the Ching Ming Festival, which happens every spring; it is a special day to visit the ancestor memorials in Hon Kong. Families in the city congregate at cemeteries and indulge in ancient practices and rituals of worshipping their ancestors.
| Date | Day | Public Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 2019 | Monday | Chung Yeung Festival 2019 |
| 25 Oct 2020 | Sunday* | Chung Yeung Festival 2020 |
| 26 Oct 2020 | Monday | Chung Yeung Festival 2020 |
| 14 Oct 2021 | Thursday | Chung Yeung Festival 2021 |
| 4 Oct 2022 | Tuesday | Chung Yeung Festival 2022 |
| 23 Oct 2023 | Monday | Chung Yeung Festival 2023 |
| 11 Oct 2024 | Friday | Chung Yeung Festival 2024 |
| 29 Oct 2025 | Wednesday | Chung Yeung Festival 2025 |
Note: Any holidays that fall on a Sunday will be replaced the following Monday.
How Do They Celebrate the Chung Yeung Festival?
This Chinese festival falls on the 9th lunar month’s 9th day every year. According to the Gregorian calendar, the day falls in between the beginning of October to mid-October every year. It has many similarities with the Ching Ming Festival that falls in spring and marks congregation of the entire family. Families worship their departed ancestors in the cemeteries. They love to hike to the various high points of the city on this day. They believe that it will bring them good luck. This age-old custom in Hong Kong dates back to the Han dynasty when a man was advised to accompany his family and go to the high ground on the 9th moon’s 9th day. They survived a mass slaughter that killed everyone else in that village. It is because he heeded this advice and was not in the village along with the other members.
What to Do During the Chung Yeung Festival?
Here are some of the top things people usually do during the Chung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong:
A Day of Family Congregation
The festival is celebrated as a day of the family reunion as the entire family gathers at the memorial of their ancestors and indulges in activities like grave-sweeping as a mark of respect to the departed souls. People also enjoy the festivities on this day by visiting nunneries, monasteries, and local temples in Hong Kong.
Hiking and Hill Climbing
Prior to visiting, cleaning, and worshipping the graves, they should also try to “go high” as per their ancient customs. It denotes that they should travel to the higher points or grounds of the city of Hong Kong. Thus, it is a day when you come across many outgoing people on getting engaged in activities like hill-climbing. Hill-climbing offers an excellent opportunity for all to enjoy nature’s beauty, as well as, exercise.
Go for a Picnic
Many people in Hong Kong love to take advantage of this public holiday and go outdoors to enjoy a cosy picnic with their loved ones. People are also seen eating ‘ko’, a special kind of cake. Hong Kongers eat this special cake with the hope that they will be elevated to high positions by doing so. In case a Hong Konger fails to go on a hike to higher points, they should not lament. TIt is because they’re supposed to get the same impact when they go on a picnic with a special cake. The cake is prepared with sugar and rice flour and can be steamed or baked that makes the mixture a portable snack, which can be easily carried for outings and picnics. These cakes are usually decorated with jujube and other traditional garnishes such as chestnuts and almonds.
Kite Flying
This is another fun traditional custom that is practised in Hong Kong to commemorate the occasion. Several people believe that flying of kites take away bad omen up in the sky and they do not come back to the planet. It is a great source of entertainment preferred by young families in the city with its origin in sweeping off bad luck from the earth.
In case Chung Yeung Festival falls on a Sunday, the public holiday is declared on the following weekday. It is a day when you will find markets, restaurants, shops, and tourist attractions are open for the public and also in full swing in the city. All these places are extremely crowded particularly when the day falls on a Sunday, a day that is always busy even without any festivals. When people wish to enjoy a peaceful long weekend, it is advisable to avoid visiting the Big Buddha or Ngong Ping, or The Peak on this day. It is interesting to note that many cemeteries in Hong Kong are constructed onto hilly areas. Climbing up to these steep graveyards or just hiking to the highest points of Hong Kong is believed to bring good omen as it is part of the ancient history of this Chinese festival.
