When is the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival, Moon Appreciating Festival, Daughter's Day or Reunion Festival, is a popular traditional cultural festival in many ethnic groups and countries in the Chinese character cultural circle in China, and falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Because its value is only half that of Sanqiu, it is named, and some places set the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16. The word Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in Zhou Li. According to the ancient calendar of China, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is in the middle of August in autumn, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival, China has the custom of enjoying the moon since ancient times. There is a record of "autumn twilight and the moon" in the Book of Rites, that is, worshipping the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table with seasonal fruits such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival remains the same. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons.