Mid-Autumn Festival 2021
Mid-Autumn Festival 2021 is considered China’s second most important traditional festivity after the country’s New Year’s Eve, also known as Spring Festival.
This year it starts today, on September 21st, in correspondence with the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when it is believed the moon is rounder and brighter. This is why it is also known as Moon Festival.
Traditionally, in China the rounded form of the moon deeply recalls the topic of rejoining, of family gathering to pray for an abundant crop, and wish for happiness and prosperity.
Mid-Autumn Festival iconic treats are Mooncakes, filled with sweet but also partly salty cream, mainly round shaped to recall the moon. They are gifted to relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues and companies give them to their employees.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is not celebrated only in China but it is popular in many Asian countries, especially Japan, where it is called ‘Tsukim’, literally ‘looking at the moon’. According to the Japanese tradition, when observing the lunar surface you can see huge dark spots that remind of a rabbit sit on a mortar with a pestle in its hands. This is why many decorations and sweet specialties are rabbit shaped. Since it is the crop season, Japanese offer edible ritual gifts to the moon to show their gratitude to the nature blessings.