Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival
Festival decorations in Beijing
Also called	Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival
Observed by	Chinese people
Type	Cultural, religious
Significance	To commemorate and celebrate the end of the autumn harvest
Celebrations	Lantern lighting, mooncake making and sharing, courtship and matchmaking, fireworks, family gathering, dragon dances, family meal, visiting friends and relatives, gift giving
Observances	Consumption of mooncakes and cassia wine
Date	15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar
2023 date	29 September
2024 date	17 September
2025 date	6 October
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Chuseok (Korea), Tsukimi (Japan), Tết Trung Thu (Vietnam), Uposatha of Ashvini or Krittika (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand)

Mid-Autumn Festival
"Mid-Autumn Festival" in traditional (top) and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	中秋節
Simplified Chinese	中秋节
Literal meaning	"Mid-Autumn Festival"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngqiū jié Wade–Giles Chung1-ch'iu1 chieh2 IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.tɕʰjóʊ tɕjě] Wu Romanization Tson-tshieu tsiq Hakka Romanization Chûng-chhiû-chiet Zúng qiú jièd Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūng-chāu jit Jyutping Zung1-cau1 zit3 IPA [tsoŋ˥.tsʰɐu˥ tsiːt̚˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-chhiu-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-chiŭ-cáik
Calendar date name
Chinese	八月十五/八月半
Literal meaning	"Fifteenth/Half of the Eighth Month"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bāyuè shíwǔ/bàn Wu Romanization Paq7-yuq8 zeq8-ng6 Paq7-yuq8-poe5 Hakka Romanization Bàd ngiad seb ǹg Bàd ngiad ban Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Baat3 jyut6 sap6 ng5 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Poeh-ge̍h-cha̍p-gō͘ Poeh-ge̍h-pòaⁿ
Regional name
Traditional Chinese	八月節
Literal meaning	"Eighth Month Festival"
Transcriptions Hakka Romanization Pat-ngie̍t-chiet Southern Min Hokkien POJ Peh-go̍eh-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Báik-nguŏk-cáik

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar.^[1] On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of autumn.^[2]

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the festival dates back over 3,000 years.^[3][4] Similar festivals are celebrated by other cultures in East and Southeast Asia.

During the festival, lanterns of all size and shapes – which symbolize beacons that light people's path to prosperity and good fortune – are carried and displayed. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during this festival.^[5][6][7] The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang'e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.