Hong Kong Public Holidays in 2007
January 01, 2007 - New Year's Day
February 18-20, 2007 - Chinese New Year
April 05, 2007 - Ching Ming Festival
April 06, 2007 - Good Friday
April 08, 2007 - Easter Sunday
April 09, 2007 - Easter Monday
May 01, 2007 - Labor Day
May 24, 2007 - The Buddha's Birthday
June 19, 2007 - Dragon Boat Festival
July 02, 2007 - First Monday After Hong Kong SAR Establishment Day (July 01)
September 26, 2007 -The day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
October 01, 2007 - National Day
October 19, 2007 - Chung Yeung Festival
December 25, 2007 - Christmas Day
December 26, 2007 - First Week-Day after Christmas

Chinese New Year
The date of the Chinese New Year varies each year according to the Lunar Calendar but falls in late January or early February. The celebration officially lasts three days but if you're in Hong Kong at this time, you'll find that most of the shops close down for a week surrounding the dates. This is a family-oriented holiday and a visit to friends and relatives is always in order. As such, almost everyone is on the move (not just internally but throughout Asia!). The border areas with the mainland are especially crowded. This, and the immediate week before, is probably the worst time to go to Hong Kong as a tourist. Indeed, you'll be lucky to get a flight unless you book well in advance. This is the only holiday during the year where nearly all the shops close down (some are invariably open in Tsim Sha Tsui). If you are in Hong Kong at this time beware of the firecrackers everywhere. These are to ward off evil spirits but the proper care is not always taken with their use, to say the least. Be careful while walking down smaller streets, especially with young children.

Ching Ming Festival
Also called Tomb Sweeping Day in some places (you can see why the traditional name is used in Hong Kong). This is a festival to honor the dead and at cemeteries everywhere it is observed by literally sweeping clear the graves stones of ancestors, lighting incense, and offering flower and food to the spirits. This Confucian festival is particularly evident at the cemeteries in Aberdeen, Happy Valley, Chai Wan, and Cheung Chau Island. The ceremonies are performed twice a year, the second festival is called "Chung Yeung" (see below).

Dragon Boat Festival
Tuen Ng is what the locals call these colorful races. There are two weekend of races. The first and largest hosts an international competition along the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui East. The second weekend is for regional teams to compete and are held at more localized venues (Aberdeen, Stanley, Chai Wan, Yau Ma Tei, and the outlying islands).

Chinese National Day/Mid-Autumn Festival
Also known as the Moon Festival or the Lantern Festival, this is a time to bake moon cakes (sweet rolls with sesame seeds, duck's eggs, and lotus seeds), eat moon cakes, and give away moon cakes! The festival celebrates the autumn moon and is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon. Beside the mooncakes, people light lanterns created in the shape of fish, flowers, pretty much anything. Many local parks will have organized events where thousands of personal lanterns are on parade. A very colorful event.

Chung Yeung Festival
This is the same as the Ching Ming Festival, where the dead are honored with various ritual offerings and tomb sweeping.



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