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The
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival,
is a popular Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating
back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty.
The
Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of
the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the
Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the
solar calendar. This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its
fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's
harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of
which there are many different varieties.
The
Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the
Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and
is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end
of the summer harvesting season on this date.
Traditionally,
on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to
admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and
pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are
additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
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Barbecues
outside under the moon
-
Putting
pomelo rinds on one's head
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Carrying
brightly lit lanterns
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Burning
incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e
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Planting
Mid-Autumn trees
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Lighting
lanterns on towers
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Fire
Dragon Dances
Shops
selling mooncakes, before the festival, often display pictures of
Chang'e floating to the moon.
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