What is the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Photo Credit: Sixth Tone

This upcoming October 6, millions of people around the globe will be looking up to the skies to admire the harvest moon. It’ll be the brightest and roundest moon of the year, signaling the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The 3,000 year old festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, every year, where it is one of the most celebrated holidays across East and Southeast Asia. Tracing back to ancient China, it began as a royal sacrificial ceremony dedicated to the moon, giving thanks for the moon’s “harvest-giving light.” Today, the festival celebrates family, health and happiness. Although most people no longer rely on the moon to guide farming cycles, the moon, which is perfectly round, still stands as a strong symbol of harmony.

On top of moon-gazing, different regions also have their own unique ways of celebrating. In China and Vietnam, performers dance with lion costumes, symbolizing luck and prosperity. In South Korea, families watch or perform ganggangsullae, a circle dance performed by women under the moonlight. 

In addition, the festival is not complete without colorful lanterns. The bright paper lanterns range from small hand carried ones to massive public displays, symbolizing luck since the Tang Dynasty. Some lanterns even also feature inscribed riddles for families to solve together.

Although the festival has greatly changed over the past few millennia, it’s still a celebration of connection and togetherness, and for many families, it’s a night to come together and reflect. From sharing mooncakes, or offering fruits to ancestors, it honors the past, celebrates the present, and wishes for good health and fortune for the near future.