Macau Festivals
Calendar of Feasts and Events
New Year Celebrations- 1st of January
Macau New Year is celebrated in all hotels, restaurants and other places . The government regularly gives a free firework display at mid-night at the Nam Van Lakes.
Chinese New Year
End of January; beginning of February; 1st day of the First Moon
Chinese New Year is the most important and colourful Chinese New Year festival celebrated by the
majority of the local population, where shops, offices, factories close for
this traditional holiday.
Procession of the Passion of Christ
February / March
A unique Macau religious celebration when an image of Christ carrying the
Cross is taken in solemn procession from St. Augustine's
Church to the Cathedral for an overnight vigil.
It is then returned through the city via the stations of the Cross, accompanied by a magenta-robed escort and crowds of the faithful and curious.
Feast of Tou Tei
March
Tou Tei is the Earth God and he is said to be everywhere.
Celebrations are held at the Tou Tei Temples around the city.
Easter Celebrations - March / April
A very important festival especially among the Christian community.
Many shops sell sweets related to this festival, as chocolates, Portuguese "folar" (egg cake), etc.
Macau Arts Festival
March / April
This festival is organized by the Cultural Institute and co-organized by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. It is the time when most of the cultural associations and institutes of Macau display their best shows.
Normally the programme include music concerts, dance, painting exhibitions, Chinese opera, theatre etc... It is an occasion when the cultural diversity of Macau comes to the stage.
For specific information about the programme of this event please visit the following Internet address: http://www.icm.gov.mo
Ching Ming Festival
April
Falling on the 106th day after the Winter Solstice, Ching Ming Festival is a family affair. It is the day when relatives flock to their ancestors' graves.
Birthday of Pak Tai April
Performances of Chinese opera are usually held in a mat-shed at the Pak Tai Temple in Taipa village.
According to legend, Pak Tai conquered Demon King, who was terrorizing the universe. As a reward he was given the title of Superior Divinity of the Deep Dark Heaven and True Soldier of the North. Chinese opera is performed by his temple on Taipa.
A-Ma Festival
April / 23rd day of the Third Moon
Homage is paid to Macau's most popular deity, the Goddess of Seafarers, from
whom Macau is said to derive its name.
The maiden A-Ma (also known as Tin Hau) ordered the elements to calm down when a storm threatened a boat. The winds abated. On the spot where the boat reached land, the grateful mariners built the A-Ma Temple.
This is the day day when seafarers and their families visit the ancient temple in the Inner Harbour.
Feast of Bathing of the Lord Buddha
May / 8th day of the Fourth Moon
A day when the images of Buddha are ceremonially cleaned and purified in Buddhist Temples throughout the territory.
Feast of the Drunken Dragon
May / 8th day of the Fourth Moon
This is a very strange festival if compared with the other major Chinese festivals. It dates from the misty past from the Kangxi Kingdom of the Qing Dynasty.
Praying to the Buddha for help against a disastrous plague, villagers were carrying his statue when suddenly a giant python leaped out of the river on to the bank, blocking the way.
A Buddhist monk slashed at the monster, cutting it into three pieces which were tossed into the river. The pieces writhed about and then, amid a great wind and thunder, they flew up into the sky.
Miraculously, the people recovered from the plague and the turf which has been stained with the creature's blood proved to be unusually fertile. Believing that they had been saved by a divine dragon, the people carved its image and at the annual festival when the Buddha is bathed they drank wildly and danced with the dragon.
The fishermen associations organize this festival, which start in the morning in the Kuan Tai Temple near S. Domingos Market (near Senado Square), where men perform a drunken dance with wooden heads and tails of a dragon.
Then, they go on the direction of the Inner Harbour and pay a visit some shops and piers on the waterfront. At each stop they drink wine until they are not able to go on.
All the participants and observers end the day with a great dinner.
Tam Kong Festival
May / 8th day of the Fourth Moon
A colourful festival celebrating the birthday of the God Tam Kong. This child god is said to control the weather and help the sick. Among the fishing community, he is second in popularity only to A-Ma.
There is Chinese opera, a procession
through the streets and lively lion dances, while traditional offerings
are made and firecrackers burnt near Coloane Village's Tam Kong Temple.
Procession of Our Lady of F atima - 13th May
Annual procession of devotees, from São Domingos
Church to the Penha Chapel
where an open-air mass is said. The event commemorated the miracle of F atima
in Portugal in 1917.
Dragon Boat Festival
May or June / 5th day of the Fifth Moon
This old Chinese festival is to commemorate the heroic poet Wat Yuen who protested against corruption by drowning himself.
Today all celebrations are concentrated on the famous Dragon Boat Races, which in Macau takes place on the Nam Van Lakes.
Many local teams and foreign teams take part in this
colourful event.
Women Volleyball Grand Prix - August
Macau stages a section of the volleyball matches in the spacious Forum stadium with international teams battling to qualify for the finals.
Feast of Maidens
August / 7th day of the Seventh Moon
Sometimes referred to as the Lovers' Festival, it falls on the seventh day of the seventh moon on the lunar calendar and has deep meaning for unmarried women. The festival celebrates the only day in the year when the legendary Heavenly Weaver can meet her lover, the Cowherd, over a bridge of birds spanning the Milky Way.
Feast of Hungry Ghosts
August / 14th day of the Seventh Moon
In order to appease the ancestors' souls and all the forgotten spirits, people make small models in paper of objects, and burn it all with incense on the pavements of the streets or at the entrance door of their houses. They worship the gods to protect those beloved ones and for that prepare dishes of meat and fruits.
Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival Macau Feast
September / October
The centre of this celebration is the Moon on the 15th day of the 8th moon,
according to the lunar calendar.
People make especial lunar cakes, which they offer, to each other in familiar and friends visits. The preparation of the cakes requires the eggs and the ingredients to be energetically shaken.
At night everybody goes out to observe the new moon and to worship the gods with colourful and exquisite lanterns.
In Macau the traditional spots for that are the Praia Grande and Nam Van Lakes, all gardens and Hac-Sa and Cheoc-Van beaches in Coloane. People sometimes leave their lanterns floating on the water.
Macau Feast of Ancestors or Chung Yeung
Sept/Oct / 9th day of the Ninth Moon
Also known as the Festival of Ascending Heights, celebrated by the Chinese, when many people climb hills after offering prayers at family graves. Macau International Fireworks Display Contest ? September / October The largest of its kind and one of the most important in the world. Experts from different countries are invited to Macau to compete with spectacles of fireworks set off over the Nam Van Lake.
Macau International Music Festival - October
This is a Festival that every year brings to Macau some of the finest orchestras, singers, choirs and music players. The programme contemplates both the Western and the Chinese classical and modern music. The climax is traditionally the performance of an opera.
The concerts and recitals take place all over the Territory in the baroque churches, in the Chinese pavilions, in the gardens and in the Auditoria of the Cultural Centre.
Macau Open Golf Tournament
With presence of high profile players and support of the Macau Golf and Country Club, the Macau Open gives the region's golfers a chance to test their rapidly development skills against the best in the world.
Macau Grand Prix - November
It is probably the most internationally known event produced in Macau, because of its quality and of its history of five decades.
The Grand Prix is in fact a set of car and motorcycle races in a city circuit.
During the days of the Grand Prix the city lives an extraordinary excitement: the noise of the engines, the crowds of tourists, the colourful decoration of the streets.
All changes the rhythm of life during one week. To know more ..
Macau International Marathon - December
Running of the International Marathon over a full course that circles the peninsula and crosses to Taipa and Coloane Islands. Runners from overseas will join hundreds of Macau and Hong Kong athletes.
Christmas Celebrations - 25th December
Although the great majority of the population in Macau is not Christian, this season in Macau is particularly different. One can feel a bit of Europe on the air. Some cake shops and hotels prepare traditional Portuguese Christmas cakes and the entire city is decorated with lights and Nativity scenes. See our Macau Christmas photos!
Online Macau Hotel Deals Super-savers, web deals, exclusive promotions — Click here to find today's best deals in Macau lodging!
Resort Hotels: Westin Resort Hotel | Mandarin Oriental | Regency Hotel
Macau Hotels: Landmark Hotel | Pousada de Sao Tiago | Lisboa Hotel | Sands Casino Hotel | Holiday Inn Hotel | Sintra Hotel | Beverly Hotel | Casa Real Hotel | Emperor Hotel | Fortuna Hotel | Fu Hua Hotel | Golden Dragon Hotel | Kingsway Hotel | Metropole Hotel | Nam Yue Hotel | Presidente Hotel | Ritz Hotel | Best Western Sun Sun | Guia Hotel | Royal Hotel | Pousada de Mongha | Mondial Hotel
Taipa and Coloane: New Century Hotel | Grandview Hotel | Best Western Taipa Hotel | Taipa Square Hotel | Pousada Marina Infante Hotel
TOP or Click here to go to Macau Travel Homepage
This site is Powered by Site Build It!