Chinese festivals and solar terms in 2026
Every festival and solar term in 2026, in date order. Each date opens that day in the almanac: what it is good for, what to avoid, and which sign it clashes with.
The festivals
- Monday 26 January 2026 — Laba Festival (腊八). The 8th of the 12th month: Laba congee.
- Tuesday 3 February 2026 — Wei Ya (尾牙), the year-end dinner. The dinner bosses give their staff to close the business year.
- Wednesday 11 February 2026 — Little New Year (小年). The kitchen god is sent off (on the 23rd in the north).
- Monday 16 February 2026 — Chinese New Year’s Eve (除夕). The reunion dinner.
- Tuesday 17 February 2026 — Chinese New Year (春节). The first day of the year. The New Year’s days and reopening dates
- Wednesday 25 February 2026 — The Jade Emperor’s birthday (天公诞). Hokkien families mark it from the night before.
- Tuesday 3 March 2026 — Chap Goh Mei, the Lantern Festival (元宵). The last day of the New Year: lanterns, tangyuan, and in Malaysia tossing oranges.
- Sunday 5 April 2026 — Qing Ming, the tomb-sweeping festival (清明). Families sweep and tend their ancestors’ graves; many go on a day in the ten before or after it.
- Friday 19 June 2026 — Dragon Boat Festival (端午). Rice dumplings (zongzi) and dragon-boat races.
- Thursday 13 August 2026 — The Hungry Ghost month begins. The seventh lunar month runs to 10 September 2026; many people avoid moving house or holding weddings in it.
- Wednesday 19 August 2026 — Qixi, the Double Seventh (七夕). The night the cowherd and the weaver girl meet.
- Thursday 27 August 2026 — The Hungry Ghost Festival (中元). The middle of the seventh month: roadside offerings, and getai shows.
- Friday 25 September 2026 — Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋). Mooncakes, lanterns and the full moon.
- Saturday 10 October 2026 — The Nine Emperor Gods Festival begins (九皇爷). From the 1st to the 9th of the ninth month; many devotees keep a vegetarian diet for the nine days.
- Sunday 18 October 2026 — Double Ninth (重阳). Climbing high and honouring elders; also the last day of the Nine Emperor Gods.
- Tuesday 22 December 2026 — Winter Solstice (冬至). Tangyuan for the family; the saying goes you are a year older after them.
Add the festivals and terms to your calendar (.ics)
The calendar file holds the dates and nothing about you.
Public holidays
Which of these are days off depends on your country and, in Malaysia, your state. For 2026’s public holidays, state by state, see Feriday: Malaysia · Singapore
The 24 solar terms of 2026
The terms follow the sun, so they fall on about the same dates every year. Times are Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan time (UTC+8). The twelve marked as month starts are where each BaZi month begins: BaZi months run from term to term, not from new moon to new moon.
Show all 24 terms, with their times
| Term | Date and time | BaZi |
|---|---|---|
| Minor Cold (Xiao Han, 小寒) | Mon 5 Jan 16:23 | Month 12 of 2025 begins |
| Major Cold (Da Han, 大寒) | Tue 20 Jan 09:44 | |
| Start of Spring (Li Chun, 立春) | Wed 4 Feb 04:02 | The year and month 1 begin |
| Rain Water (Yu Shui, 雨水) | Wed 18 Feb 23:51 | |
| Awakening of Insects (Jing Zhe, 惊蛰) | Thu 5 Mar 21:59 | Month 2 begins |
| Spring Equinox (Chun Fen, 春分) | Fri 20 Mar 22:45 | |
| Clear and Bright (Qing Ming, 清明) | Sun 5 Apr 02:40 | Month 3 begins |
| Grain Rain (Gu Yu, 谷雨) | Mon 20 Apr 09:39 | |
| Start of Summer (Li Xia, 立夏) | Tue 5 May 19:48 | Month 4 begins |
| Grain Buds (Xiao Man, 小满) | Thu 21 May 08:36 | |
| Grain in Ear (Mang Zhong, 芒种) | Fri 5 Jun 23:48 | Month 5 begins |
| Summer Solstice (Xia Zhi, 夏至) | Sun 21 Jun 16:24 | |
| Minor Heat (Xiao Shu, 小暑) | Tue 7 Jul 09:56 | Month 6 begins |
| Major Heat (Da Shu, 大暑) | Thu 23 Jul 03:13 | |
| Start of Autumn (Li Qiu, 立秋) | Fri 7 Aug 19:42 | Month 7 begins |
| End of Heat (Chu Shu, 处暑) | Sun 23 Aug 10:18 | |
| White Dew (Bai Lu, 白露) | Mon 7 Sep 22:41 | Month 8 begins |
| Autumn Equinox (Qiu Fen, 秋分) | Wed 23 Sep 08:05 | |
| Cold Dew (Han Lu, 寒露) | Thu 8 Oct 14:29 | Month 9 begins |
| Frost Descent (Shuang Jiang, 霜降) | Fri 23 Oct 17:37 | |
| Start of Winter (Li Dong, 立冬) | Sat 7 Nov 17:52 | Month 10 begins |
| Minor Snow (Xiao Xue, 小雪) | Sun 22 Nov 15:23 | |
| Major Snow (Da Xue, 大雪) | Mon 7 Dec 10:52 | Month 11 begins |
| Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi, 冬至) | Tue 22 Dec 04:50 |
2026’s twelve months and their pillars · Why the BaZi year starts at the Start of Spring
Which of these days suit you?
Every day clashes with one sign. To see which days clash with you, and which suit what you plan to do, use Pick a date: give your birthday and your family’s, and it leaves out the days that clash with any of you. Pick a date
Lunar dates and the terms’ moments are calculated with the open-source calendar library (lunar, by 6tail) the site uses throughout. The notes on each festival describe custom, which varies from place to place.