The Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

The Mid-Autumn Festival

zhōng qiū jié 中秋节

The full moon is traditionally a symbol for reunion, tuanyuan, as yuan means round. The Chinese people celebrate by coming together as families to eat, drink and be merry.

Moon Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, so the date is different from year to year, but it is always on the full moon.

The dates for Moon Festival are as follows:

• 2014 - September 8
• 2015 - September 27
• 2016 - September 15

Enjoy the Full Moon

shǎng yuè 赏月

The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions. When the full moon rises, families get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes, and sing moon poems. With the full moon, the legend, the family and the poems, you can't help thinking that this is really a perfect world. That is why the Chinese are so fond of the Moon Festival.

Moon Cakes

yuè bǐng 月饼

The traditional food of Moon Festival is Moon Cake which is a pastry stuffed with filling such as egg yolk, lotus seed paste, red bean paste, coconut, walnuts, or dates. 

Moon cakes are typically round, symbolizing the full round moon of the mid-autumn festival.

The tops of Moon cakes usually have Chinese characters representing longevity or harmony.

Join Mandarin House for a Chinese course this autumn. Experience this unique festival with us!