Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is an annual celebration observed by ethnic Chinese. An official holiday in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, it is held on the 15^th day of the 8^th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. With that said, it takes its name from the fact that the moon is at its roundest and brightest around that time of the year. On this day, families gather together to enjoy traditional holiday foods and moon watch, a symbol of harmony and unity.

One ritualistic staple is the making and sharing of Mooncakes, a thin crust pastry enveloping a lotus seed paste filling. In some variations, the round shaped cake might even contain a whole salted egg yolk in the center, as a symbol of the full moon and the reunion of a family. Due to intense market competition, the compositions of Mooncake have greatly diversified over the years. From fat-free Mooncakes to ice-cream Mooncakes, brands from virtually every industry have introduced endless contemporary options in order to adapt to the evolving taste of consumers.

Another notable part of the holiday is carrying around brightly lit lanterns. Traditionally, lanterns are handmade from papier-mâché, often of figures from traditional folklore. Today, handcrafted lanterns are replaced by mass produced plastic lanterns, and are often influenced by global cultures. On the night of the festival, it is a common sight to see children roaming around with Disney characters to Hello Kitty shaped lanterns.  While the historic purpose behind lighting lanterns is unclear, it has become a symbolic children activity.

In South Korea, a similar harvest festival named Chuseok is also observed on the same day as the Chinese festival. As a celebration of good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of traditional holiday food such as songpyeon, rice cakes with shapes that resemble the half-moon and Hangwa, a cookie made from diverse grains and honey.