In China, Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of the rice harvest and many fruits. Ceremonies are held both to give thanks for the harvest and to encourage the harvest-giving light to return again in the coming year.
It is also a reunion time for families, a little like Thanksgiving. Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, worshiping the moon, lighting paper lanterns, eating mooncakes, etc.
Mid-Autumn Festival traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which is in September or early October on the Gregorian calendar. As, traditionally, the four seasons each have three lunar months, day 15 of month 8 is “the middle of autumn”, hence the festival’s lunar date. For more, see How the Date of Mid-Autumn Festival Is Determined.
In 2023, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 29th (Friday). Chinese people have a 2-day public holiday September 29th and 30th.
Mid-Autumn Festival has a history of over 3,000 years. It was derived from the custom of worshiping the moon in autumn to thank it for the harvest.
In the process of cultural/historical developments, Mid-Autumn Festival has been infused with more meanings, including families gathering together and praying for good health and happiness.
In modern times, people mainly celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival as a time for family reunions. It is said the moon on this day is the brightest and roundest, which has come to mean family reunion. Because of the central theme of family reunion, sometimes the festival evokes comparison to Thanksgiving in the U.S.
You might want to read more on Mid-Autumn Festival Origins or 10 Interesting Mid-Autumn Facts.
As the second most important festival in China, Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) is celebrated in many traditional ways. Here are some of the most popular traditional celebrations.
1. Enjoying a Dinner with Family
The roundness of the moon represents the reunion of the family in Chinese minds. Families will have dinner together on the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival.
The public holiday (usually 3 days) is mainly for Chinese people working in different places to have enough time to reunite. Those staying too far away from their parents’ home usually get together with friends.
2. Eating Mooncakes
Mooncakes are the most representative food for Mid-Autumn Festival. Their round shape and sweet flavor symbolize completeness and sweetness. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat mooncakes together with family, or present mooncakes to relatives or friends, to express their love and best wishes.
Mooncakes are usually eaten after dinner while admiring the moon.
3. Appreciating the Moon
The full moon is the symbol of family reunions in Chinese culture. It is said, sentimentally, that “the moon on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is the brightest and the most beautiful”.
