MAIN Home Life Holidays Mid-Autumn Moon Festival 2010

"When the moon is full, mankind is one!"

In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes annually. This year, the Mid-Autumn festival falls on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets to moon-gaze.

It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year!

The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.

In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it's sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.

Mid-Autumn Festival Foods & Festivities

Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and moon cakes.

Similar harvest festivals with their own unique traditions also occur during the same time - in Korea during the three-day Chusok or Chu Suk festival; in Vietnam during Tet Trung Thu; and in Japan at the Tsukimi festival.

On the Web, learn more about Mid-Autumn festival celebrations in the U.S. and around the world and discover a rich source of food and recipes of the season, festive e-mail greetings, along with the colorful folklore, stories, music, poems and legends associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival...

More about the Mid-Autumn Festival around he Web

Mid Autumn Festival - Archived from 2001, but still a top resource for its depth of coverage of worldwide traditions, history, crafts (including Make Your Own Lantern), poems, moon cake recipes, related links.

Chinese Mid Autumn Festival or Moon Cake Festival - Gather 'round for folk tales most associated with the feast - Moon Lady and the Old Man on the Moon.

Chinese MidAutumn Moon Festival - Well written narrative explaining related traditions and rituals in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

Chinatown Online- Moon Festival - The Australian celebration, with info on how the Moon Festival is observed across the country, including features on related customs in China, Korea and Vietnam, plus a traditional recipe for moon cakes, an overview of other festival foods, poems, and homemade lantern instructions.

Mooncake festival stories - A personal reminiscence and a great read about growing up with holiday traditions and superstitions, with related photos, first featured in The Star, Malaysia.

123 Greetings Chinese Moon Festival Greeting Cards - A good collection of free e-postcards, Flash and animated holiday e-cards.

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations Worldwide:

Mid-Autumn Festival Foods & Mooncake Recipes

also see -> Lunar New Year | Chinese Horoscopes

Chinese Valentines Day | Chinese Dragon Boat Festival