The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional celebration in China and has been so for over 1,000 years, during the Tang Dynasty. Held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the festival corresponds with the autumn full moon, usually in late September or early October. Known as Zhongqiujie in Chinese, it is second in importance only to Chinese New Year and is a public holiday in the mainland.
This festival is fundamentally about unity, bringing family members and loved ones together to express love and gratitude. It is often marked by making and sharing mooncakes — a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste, celebrating the beauty and brightness of the full moon. The round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. Many people will also admire the moon, a practice that dates back thousands of years, often through poetry and song.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is engrained in Chinese culture with myths and legends, most famously the story of Chang'e, the moon goddess of immortality. According to folklore, Chang'e swallowed a magic pill to escape her cruel husband and flew to the moon. There, she is said to live with a jade rabbit, also a protagonist of tales surrounding the festival. For modern celebrations, however, the focus tends to be less on lore and more on family, unity, and appreciation of the moon’s beauty.