In Vietnam, the festival is called Tết Trung Thu, with celebrations primarily for children. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also celebrated in other Asian countries, especially Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, which have a large proportion of ethnic Chinese. Scholars have identified the three fundamental meanings of the festival as “gathering, thanksgiving, and praying ” (p.
It is second only to the Chinese New Year in importance.
#Gazing at the moon midautumn festival full#
During the festival, families and friends gather together under the light of the full moon to drink tea, eat mooncakes, hang lanterns, and gaze at the moon. The roundness of the full moon symbolizes unity, completeness, perfection, and wholeness of the family. It is believed that the moon is at its brightest and fullest on this date. The date of the festival changes yearly with the Chinese lunar calendar: it is held on the 15th day of the lunisolar calendar’s eighth month, which usually falls between mid-September and early October of the Gregorian calendar. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated Tuesday, September 21. These are aptly called 灯谜, dēng mí, or “lantern riddles.” Sometimes, riddles about Chinese idioms, literature, history, and geography are written and hung from the bottoms of the lanterns. Pass it on to your local school, or use it at home with the little people in your life.Lanterns of all colors and shapes are lit during the festival. The British Council has created this lovely guide for schools with lesson and assembly plans to help children learn more about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Young women would pray to Chang’e, the moon goddess of immortality, for assistance in achieving their romantic aims. The Festival has also been a time to celebrate weddings and to carry out match-making activity. This year, the Chinese Government has forbidden Public Officials from giving and receiving mooncakes as part of its clampdown on corruption. The gesture is still intended to represent unity. Unsurprisingly, the modern custom is to buy mooncakes to give to family, colleagues and business associates. You’ll see from this recipe that it’s a fiddly process that involves a special mould to give the cakes their distinctive appearance. Historically mooncakes were made at home. Mooncakes are a traditional symbol of the festival, with the round shape symbolising unity. Carrying lanterns or releasing sky lanterns into the night are also commonplace. The contemporary celebration includes taking time to look at the moon as a family, and to eat the aptly-named mooncakes. Worshipping the moon and offering gifts of food and incense in the hope of an abundant harvest and fertile land (and women) was very traditional, and still practised. Confucian scholars would take the time to admire the moon, drink wine and recite poetry. Moon gazing is a traditional way to mark the festival – a symbol of completeness and unity, both concepts that are important in Chinese and Vietnamese culture. By the early 20th century, the festival had a firm identity as a children’s festival. In Vietnam it is the second most important national celebration after Tet (the lunar new year), where it has evolved from a celebration to divine the future of the harvest to a day focused on fertility and abundance for harvests, livestock and babies. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Here’s a quick Asia House guide to help you expand your cultural awareness of this celebration and its significance in part of Asia.
Originating in Greater China and also celebrated Vietnam and in Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, the festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar during a full moon. Today we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon gazing – Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival
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