Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes, lanterns and so much more

Hong Kong CNN —

It’s time to hang a lantern, share a mooncake and peel a pomelo – Mid-Autumn Festival is here.

Falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, it’s celebrated primarily in East and Southeast Asia and is a time for families to gather to sample autumn harvests, light lanterns and admire what’s believed to be the fullest moon of the year.

In 2024, the Mid-Autumn Festival, or the Moon Festival, falls on September 17. Here’s a bit of background and a few tips on how to join this massive full moon party.

Forbidden city at daytime,Beijing,China

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What is the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Lanterns are an important part of all Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations.

Mid-Autumn Festival became an official celebration in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) but there isn’t one single answer to the question of when and how the annual event began.

Many believe the fete was first mentioned in the “Book of Rites,” a Confucius classic on bureaucracy and rituals written more than 2,400 years ago.

It was described as a day for emperors to celebrate the year’s harvest by giving offerings to the moon and hosting a great feast.

Today, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an incredibly important family gathering – it’s when “people and the moon reunite to form a full circle,” as an old saying goes.

Chang’e: The moon festival goddess

The Mid-Authum Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.

Like many cultural celebrations, the Mid-Autumn Festival is shrouded in myth. One of the most beloved – and tragic – pieces of folklore tells the story of how a woman named Chang’e became the moon goddess.