About Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Date: September 30, 2012

August the 15th according to the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid Autumn Festival in China. The festival is the second most important festival to the Spring Festival to Chinese people. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the world to meet their family and have dinner with them.

Mid Autumn Festival. Click to send E-card to your friends. China’s Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunisolar month. The festival is the second most important festival after the Spring Festival to Chinese people. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the country and the world to meet their family and have dinner with them.

Why is the Mid-Autumn Festival so important? It is related to the moon and Chinese people like the moon very much. In Chinese culture, the full moon is a symbol of peace and prosperity for the whole family. Its roundness symbolizes wholeness and togetherness. In the middle of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar the moon is full, and eight is also a popular number in Chinese culture, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. So people believe this day is very propitious.

Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Chang'e and the moon cakes - Mid autumn festival The Mid-Autumn Festival has a history of 2000 years. During these 2000 years lots of Mid-Autumn traditions have been thought up by Chinese people. All the celebrations show the happiness and excitement of people.

The main celebrations during the Mid-Autumn Festival are appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes together and making Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns. These three celebrations have been passed from generation to generation. Chinese people may think the Mid-Autumn Festival is not coming if they don’t do these three things.

In some places in China people celebrate the festival in different ways. In Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, people eat taro to celebrate the festival, because the taro harvest occurs at the same time as the festival. They eat taro and hope the harvest is good in the next year. In Nanjing, people cook duck with sweet-scented osmanthus, because Nanjing people think sweet-scented osmanthus is a symbol of peace. In some places people make fires inside a towers to celebrate the festival, because they think the fire is a symbol of good business.

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Hi, I'm Ruru Zhou
I updated this article on May 9, 2013
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Q: Hussain Asked on 2010-09-21 Reply
I wanna to know that where is the best celebration will be held in Hong Kong. Pakistan China friendship.
Hi Hussain, A wide range of activities including Lantern Carnivals, Thematic Lantern Exhibitions and a Lantern Design Competition Entries Exhibition are in place to celebrate the coming Mid-Autumn Festival. Admission to all activities is free. Featuring a variety of entertainment programmes, the Lantern Carnivals will be held at Tsing Yi Park on September 21, at Victoria Park on September 22, and at Tai Po Waterfront Park on September 23. Grace Wang Replied on 2010-09-22