- Categories:
- Cultural
- Tags:
- Festivities
- Where:
- China
- Date change rule:
- 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar (mid-September to early October)
- Holiday emoji:
- 🥮
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, illuminates the lunar calendar every year. This cherished holiday, falling on September 25, 2026, celebrates the autumn harvest and family reunion. Gather loved ones, share mooncakes, and appreciate the full moon’s beauty.
Want to sponsor Mid-Autumn Festival? Learn how
Expected Mid-Autumn Festival Deals
While the Mid-Autumn Festival is not typically a commercial sales event, many Asian grocery stores and specialty bakeries offer unique promotions on mooncakes and other traditional treats. Look for deals at places like 99 Ranch Market, H Mart, and local Asian bakeries that specialize in festive pastries. Restaurants may feature special family-style menus or mooncake pairings. Cultural centers often host free or low-cost community events, sometimes with food vendors. Consider supporting local businesses that offer traditional crafts or ingredients for homemade celebrations. We will update this page with confirmed live cultural events and local promotions as September approaches.
Platform Guide for Mid-Autumn Festival
Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #MidAutumnFestival. Share beautiful photos of mooncakes, lanterns, and family gatherings under the full moon.
Mention National Today (facebook.com/nationaltoday) and use #MoonFestival. Share community event details, traditional recipes, and stories of your family’s celebrations.
YouTube
Subscribe to @NationalToday for holiday video content. Create or share videos of mooncake making, lantern parades, or cultural performances.
Mid-Autumn Festival Hero
Chang'e
Mid-Autumn Festival timeline
During the autumnal equinox, Chinese royalty offer sacrifices to the Moon Goddess but an actual festival didn't exist at that time.
Taking their cue from the royal class, merchants and commoners hold nightly celebrations in honor of the moon with dancing, wine-drinking and merriment.
By this time, the Moon Festival had become a popular folk festival that always took place during the 15th day of the eighth lunar month as designated in the lunar calendar.
During the Yuan Dynasty, which was ruled by the Mongols, the tradition of eating moon cakes starts out with the delicacies stuffed with messages relayed among those fighting against the Mongols.
The Mid-Autumn Festival becomes a firm part of Chinese culture, making it second only to the festivities surrounding Chinese New Year.
How Businesses Can Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival
Local businesses, especially those in Asian communities, can embrace the Mid-Autumn Festival by offering special promotions on mooncakes, lanterns, and other traditional items. Restaurants can create limited-time festive menus featuring seasonal ingredients and dishes. Cultural centers might host workshops on mooncake making or lantern crafting, or organize moon-gazing events. Consider collaborating with local artists to display festival-themed art or hosting performances of traditional music and dance.
Mid-Autumn Festival FAQs
When is Mid-Autumn Festival?
Mid-Autumn Festival 2026 falls on Friday, September 25, when families gather to celebrate the harvest moon. This date is determined by the lunar calendar.
How many people celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival?
Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, particularly in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and other East and Southeast Asian countries, as well as by diaspora communities globally.
What is a mooncake?
A mooncake is a rich pastry typically eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional mooncakes feature a dense filling, often made from lotus seed paste or red bean paste, and may contain salted duck egg yolks representing the full moon.
What is the legend of Chang'e?
The legend of Chang’e is a popular Chinese myth associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival. It tells the story of Chang’e, who consumed an elixir of immortality and ascended to the moon, becoming its goddess. Her husband, Hou Yi, would then offer sacrifices to her on the full moon.
Mid-Autumn Festival Activities
Munch on moon cakes
Moon cakes are extra special Chinese pastries shared among family and friends during the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival. If you're the family chef, make these delicacies with a variety of fillings. But if eating is all you really want to do, sample some moon cakes stuffed with lotus paste and salted egg yolk or date paste, fruits, nuts or seeds. Tasty!
Hang paper lanterns
In China, you know it's time for a festival when you see beautiful paper lanterns everywhere you look. This year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, criss-cross your backyard with googobs of fancy paper lanterns. Then, invite friends over for moon cakes and fun!
Make your house The Spot for the festival
This year, your house is Party Central for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The nights should be warm enough for moon gazing and the days should be filled with delicious food and the comings and goings of family and friends.
5 Reasons To Put China's Mid-Autumn Festival On Your Calendar
It's celebrated outside of mainland China
People in Hong Kong, Macau, and Vietnam also celebrate this festival.
Moon cakes come in all sizes
In 2013, the world's largest moon cake was wider than a king-size bed and weighed more than a car.
It was like Valentine's Day in ancient China
The "old man in the moon" was said to act as a matchmaker hooking up singles who needed to find mates and romance.
A touch of the digital age
Instead of giving moon cakes, Chinese updated the festival tradition by using wi-fi to distribute "digital red envelopes" filled with "lucky money" for friends and family.
Book your train ticket early
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival covers three days, train seats sell out quickly so get yours as soon as possible!
Why We Love Mid-Autumn Festival
It's a moon thang
There's something mysterious, poetic and powerful about this silver orb that has inspired cultures all over the world. As an agrarian society for centuries, China's farmers were beholden to the elements, including the moon, for a plentiful harvest.
It's a time for gratitude
Giving thanks for a bountiful harvest brings family and friends together during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even if you're not a farmer, this festival reminds everyone to count their blessings. But it doesn't hurt to enjoy the earthly pleasures of delicious food, decorative lanterns, rousing music and loads of fun.
It's okay to be Number Two
The Mid-August Festival is the second largest in the country after Chinese New Year. Attendees enjoy festivities during the day and non-stop partying at night. Who says being Number Two is lame?
Mid-Autumn Festival dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | October 6 | Monday |
| 2026 | September 25 | Friday |
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