(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-07 16:16

BEIJING - China may increase the number of legal holidays and include some traditional festivals, such as the Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, as part of the country's legal holidays, sources said.

The Chinese government has formed a preliminary plan on the new legal holiday arrangement and the plan will be released "in the near future". After that public opinion will be sought on the Internet.

As an ancient country with a civilized history of more than 5,000 years, some traditional festivals represent part of the Chinese nation's cultural heritage. However, current legal holiday arrangement only include the Spring Festival.

Cai Jiming, professor with Tsinghua University and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said that traditional festivals as legal holiday would help reserve the folk customs.

"The nation's traditional culture will find its way to develop, " Cai said.

Feng Jicai, a renowned Chinese writer who upholds folk customs, said the cultural meaning of Chinese traditional festivals should be restored and emphasized, especially with increasing globalization.

Chinese people currently have ten days of legal holiday. Nine days are for May Day, the National Day and the Spring Festival, with three days for each, and one day for New Year's Day.

However, the weekends on one side of the first three holidays are designated as two working days, and people enjoy two days off on the working days, which makes the holiday a consecutive seven days. Millions of Chinese travel during the holidays, so earning them the name "golden weeks".

Regarded as one of the most important days on the Chinese calendar, the Tomb-Sweeping Day, or Qingming festival, which usually occurs on April 4 or 5 each year, was established by a Chinese emperor in memory of a loyal official who sacrificed himself to save the emperor's life more than 2,500 years ago.

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