Lantern display celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore

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A lunar lantern celebration

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is a celebration of the autumn harvest observed by Chinese and other Asian peoples. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the full moon closest to the autumn equinox. Originally a plea to the gods for rains to ensure a good harvest next year, Mid-Autumn Festival has become a more secular bit of autumn fun. Children and adults gather to give thanks, eat sweet mooncakes and light lanterns, like the hand-painted ones on our homepage from a previous celebration in Singapore. This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincidentally lands on another Chinese holiday, National Day.