The Mid-Autumn Festival

In the past, the festival was a time to enjoy the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food offerings made in honor of the moon. Today, it is still an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the moon, a symbol of harmony and unity.

It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (often in September or early October) in the middle of autumn. On this day, adults and parents prepare many different foods - moon cakes, candies, biscuits, jellies, and fruit, such as grapefruit, longan, bananas, apples, mango, etc. All of them are designed with various symbols and/or shaped like animals such as dog, cat, and mouse.

Moon cakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste, are unique to this celebration.

In addition, children are provided with lanterns in various shapes - star lanterns, flower lanterns and diverse funny masks such as clown mask, lion mask, prince or princess mask for the special performance on the evening of the full moon.

The children, bearing the beautiful lanterns and wearing funny masks, perform lion dances, and sing folklore songs in the grounds of their homes or on the streets when the moon is rising.

Nowadays, although some of the traditional toys have been replaced by modern ones, the meaning and the performance have been preserved and developed.