What You Need To Know About The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept. 15–17, is one of China’s most important events. The great weather combined with the festivities means it’s a perfect time to visit.

Some say the festival originates from ancient pagan beliefs associated with the lunar calendar and the changing of seasons. Communities would make sacrifices to the moon during the fall months to thank her for the harvest as early as 1046 B.C. The practice eventually morphed into a festival, which took on more of its current feel about 1,000 years ago.

Today, the moon still plays a big role in the celebrations, as many take place outdoors after nightfall, with participants carrying bright lanterns or releasing floating lanterns. The customary food associated with the festival is the moon cake, a round pastry filled with red bean or lotus seed paste. The cakes are often given as gifts. Beside the lunar calendar, other festival themes include family, thanksgiving and togetherness, with most households sharing a family meal, much like the American Thanksgiving holiday.

If you happen to visit Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival, be sure to check out the city’s own holiday tradition — the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. A 220-foot dragon made from metal, straw, paper and hemp, covered in more than 70,000 incense sticks and controlled by nearly 300 performers, winds its way through the back streets of Tai Hang on each of the three festival days.

Wuyuan is similarly known for its dragon-shaped lanterns, made of straw and incense.

In Hunan, it’s customary for young men and women to steal fruits and vegetables growing in friends’ yards, and many interpret the picking of someone else’s plants during the festival as a sign of affection.

West Lake in Hangzhou is one of the most popular spots for moon viewing during the festival, and is a setting revered for its beauty during the fall. In fact, an image of the moon and the reflection of candles on the lake’s water during the Mid-Autumn Festival appears on the one yuan bank note.