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East Asia & Pacific

Lunisolar new years, harvest moon festivals, Buddhist observances and water-splashing celebrations across China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Southeast Asia.

14 cultural holidays 16 countries

About this region

Lunisolar new years, harvest moon festivals, Buddhist observances and water-splashing celebrations across China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Each holiday below opens onto a detail page covering its origin and meaning, traditional greetings in the original language with English translation, design tips for printable cards, a starting palette, and five ready-to-use verses. Slugs that match an entry in the wider 1,920-occasion CardVerse directory cross-link both ways.

Cultural holidays in East Asia & Pacific

15th day of the 8th lunar month — three-day holiday

Chuseok

Korea's three-day harvest moon festival — the country's largest annual holiday, centred on family reunion and

5th day of the 5th lunar month (May–June)

Dragon Boat Festival

An ancient summer festival of dragon-boat races and zongzi rice dumplings, commemorating the poet-statesman Qu

 First day of Shawwal — end of Ramadan

Hari Raya Puasa

The Malay-speaking world's distinctive expression of Eid al-Fitr — a week of open houses, ketupat, and forgive

 15th day of the 1st lunar month — closes the Lunar New Year

Lantern Festival

The 15th-day close of the Lunar New Year, when sky-lanterns rise and sweet rice balls are eaten in family.

 Full moon of the 12th lunar month (November)

Loy Krathong

The Thai festival of floating banana-leaf vessels carrying candle, incense and a single coin down the river.

 New moon between 21 January and 20 February

Lunar New Year

The fifteen-day festival opening the lunisolar year — the largest annual human migration on earth.

 15th day of the 8th lunar month (September–October)

Mid-Autumn Festival

A harvest-moon festival of family reunion, mooncakes, and lantern processions across East and Southeast Asia.

 Mid-July or mid-August depending on region (three-day festival)

Obon

A 500-year-old Buddhist festival of remembrance for ancestors, marked by lantern-floating, bon odori dance, an

 Around 4–6 April (15 days after the spring equinox)

Qingming Festival

An ancient day of honouring ancestors at their graves, sweeping tombs and making offerings of food and joss pa

 First day of the lunisolar calendar (January–February)

Seollal

Korea's three-day Lunar New Year — a quieter, more familial cousin of the Chinese new year, centred on the bow

 13–15 April

Songkran

The Thai new year and three-day water festival of cleansing, blessing of elders, and the world's largest publi

 7 July (or 7 August by the lunar calendar)

Tanabata

A summer star-festival commemorating the once-a-year meeting of the celestial lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi.

 First three days of the lunar new year (January–February)

Tết

Vietnam's most important festival — a week-long lunar new year of family return, ancestor veneration, and apri

 Full moon of the lunar month Vesakha (April–May)

Vesak

The most sacred Theravada Buddhist holiday, observing the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of the Buddha

Countries in this region

The CardVerse directory tracks holidays by country as well — open any country page below to see every observance the directory has indexed for it.