Chinese Moon Festival (AKA Chinese Thanksgiving)

If you are a foreigner and this is your first year in China, you may not be aware of the Chinese Moon Festival (AKA Chinese Thanksgiving). Family, food, fun activities, and amazing decoration—what’s not to like? If you have not participated in the festival before, be sure to check it out this year.

The festival originated from people of the Tang dynasty. During that time, it was common to pray to the moon for a good harvest. Poets would often write poems in admiration of the moon and there was even a myth that the Emperor visited the moon palace and heard a beautiful song in his dream. To show their appreciation for the moon, rich merchants and officials would throw big parties with great food, alcoholic drinks, dance and music.

Traditional activities for this festival include eating mooncakes, playing with lanterns, eating reunion dinners with extended family and praying to or admiring the moon.

Many traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival have developed over different dynasties. Mooncakes are the traditional Chinese dessert eaten, given and received during the Moon Festival. For example, the tradition of eating the mooncake began at the end of the Yuan Dynasty to commemorate the successful upraising against the Mongols. In legend, it was said that the Han people’s resistance put slips of paper in the mooncakes that stated “uprising on the night of the autumn festival” and sold it to the Han people as a way to inform other Han people the time of the revolt without being discovered by the Mongols.

Since the the Yuan dynasty, mooncakes have become more and more diverse. Traditionally, mooncakes are sweet, dense Chinese pastries that are round in shape like the full moon. Recently, many new and interesting variations in the skin and flavours of mooncakes have been created. The frozen gelatinous skin ice cream filling and Matcha flavoured filling are some of the popular choices of the new generation. It is always exciting and refreshing to try new flavours!

If you are not in it for the food, go to traditional parts of Guangzhou because they will have amazing light decorations. Even if you do not make an effort to go see the extravagant decorations, you may notice some lanterns and lotus flowers in lobbies and buildings.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival or should I say 中秋节快乐 (zhōng qiū jié kuài lè )！

For more information, please visit ChinaHighlights.com.