MId-Autumn Festival is the time of year when, across China, families gather for a special dinner, children play with colorful lanterns, and, most importantly, people cast an eye toward the bright full moon. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, lanterns of different shapes and sizes can be seen everywhere throughout the country, on trees, houses, parks, and even floating on rivers. A festive vibe is in the air, and people are out and about. With the cooler weather, many stores offer discounts to attract shoppers and to enhance the joyous atmosphere. It’s Mid-Autumn Festival time, so here’s the low down on everything you need to know about the exuberant holiday.
What is Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival centered around harmonious family reunions. Particularly in the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, extended families, usually involving three generations, gather and enjoy dinner at the grandparents’ home. After dinner, families traditionally offer sacrifices to the moon, in the belief that the lunar sphere will bring them good luck. The offerings may include symbolic fruit or mooncakes, a sweet, dense filling wrapped in pastries consisting of a thin, tender skin. If the weather is clear, many families will go to a park to gaze at the moon while eating mooncakes. In 2008 the Mid-Autumn Festival was declared a public holiday.
Where and when is it celebrated?
The Mid-Autumn Festival takes its name from the fact that this lively festival is always celebrated in the middle of the autumn season, when the moon is believed to be the biggest and brightest. The jubilation takes place in China and falls on the 15th day of the 8th month, according the Chinese lunar calendar. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the grandest festival, second only to the Chinese New Year.
What's the history behind this festival?
The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival stretches back over 3,000 years to the Shang Dynasty. From 1600 to 1046 B.C, emperors worshiped the moon in the fall because they thought it would produce an abundant harvest. In the succeeding Western Zhou Dynasty, during the years 1045 to 770 B.C., moon worship took the form of sacrifices to the lunar goddess. This practice has continued ever since. Plums, grapes, watermelons, apples, and mooncakes are the top sacrificial items.
The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival is also filled with many colorful legends. One of the most popular is Chang'e Flying to the Moon about a woman who drinks an elixir that offers immortality and then floats to the moon. Another version has her mistakenly pouring the vial of elixir into a mooncake.
What celebrations take place during this festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is filled with lots of festive activities. In Chinese beliefs, the full moon is the symbol of family reunion, so enjoying a reunion dinner is a prime activity that brings together large families and celebrates the familial bonds across generations. Creating and playing with brightly colored lanterns is a fun diversion for kids. Kongming lanterns, which can fly because the burning candles heat the air in the lantern, are an extra thrill for children. Worshiping the moon is a historical activity that connects the Chinese with their past ancestors. After dinner, families will put a table outside facing towards the moon, and place fruit, mooncakes, incense, and candlesticks on the table, However, this intimate practice is disappearing, especially in big cities. Nowadays, many public celebrations are held in a city park or square.
Which special foods are eaten at this time?
A variety of foods are eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival: pumpkin to bring good health, taro to bring good luck and wealth, and river snails to brighten your eyes. Duck is the second most popular food to eat. The number one festival food and a must-eat is the very popular mooncake. Mooncakes are given as gifts this time of year. They are traditionally filled with sweet bean paste, lotus seed paste, nuts, and egg yolk. More modern versions of mooncakes can also be found that offer chocolate and ice cream!
Mooncakes are not only tasty, but they offer an interesting place in Chinese folklore. In a popular Chinese tale, it is said that these mooncakes played a role in overthrowing the Mongolian Empire in China in the 14th century. Rebels reportedly smuggled written instructions into mooncakes that were delivered to their fellow citizens on the evening of one Mid-Autumn Festival. This incited the people to rise up, arm themselves, and overthrow their oppressive rulers.
What are the best places to celebrate the festival, in China?
The top spots to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in China is in the cities. Beijing and Shanghai offer premiere places to enjoy festivities to the fullest. For a picture-perfect setting, you can’t beat The Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing. The place combines distant mountains, nearby water, a bright moon, and a beautiful bridge to create an indelible image. The scenic Shichahai, in the northwest part of Beijing, is an excellent choice if you want to float in a boat on the water while viewing the moon.
If you want to view the bright moon in closer proximity, Shanghai’s multitude of skyscrapers offers an ideal venue. Head to what’s known as the “Golden Triangle”, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center, to have your pick of the best place to admire the moon. Celebrate the moon in a traditional setting at Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. With its delicate bridges and a babbling brook, it’s a top-notch choice, and you can admire the moon at a nearby teahouse or a restaurant along the brook!
Which other Asian countries celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival?
China isn’t the only country that celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival. Across all of East Asia, you can find fun celebrations, from Vietnam to Korea and from Japan to Singapore. Some regions, like Hong Kong, hold dragon and lion dances, which draw large crowds of participants and spectators. Celebrants in Japan munch on gooey rice cakes, instead of mooncakes. Chinese towns and colonies across the Philippines are decorated with colorful banners and lanterns. They also have parades displaying fancy cars, dragon dancing, bright lanterns, and traditional Chinese clothing. Given that Singapore is a tourist hot spot, celebrations are huge. Places, such as Orchard Road, river banks, Chinatown, and Chinese Garden, are fully decorated to welcome tourists from all over the world to the festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival; awash with mooncakes and lanterns
If you’re planning an East Asian adventure, you might want to consider traveling during the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival. You’ll get the chance to sample a sweet and tasty mooncake, release a pretty Kongming lantern, gaze at the beautiful moon, and, of course, discover a joyous holiday that will definitely enrich a once-in-a-lifetime tourist experience.
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