Zhongqiu Jie

Chinese festival

Also known as: Mid-Autumn Festival

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Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Zhongqiu Jie or the Moon Festival, is a significant harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture and other East and Southeast Asian cultures. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, coinciding with the brightest full moon of the year.1234

Key traditions include family reunions, moon gazing, and the sharing of mooncakes. These pastries, traditionally filled with sweet ingredients like lotus seed paste and often a salted egg yolk symbolizing the moon, are central to the celebration. The festival is also associated with the legend of the moon goddess Chang'e.2456

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Chang’e
…with a “Mid-Autumn Festival” (Zhongqiu Jie). With a full moon shining in the heavens, “moon cakes” are eaten and offered as gifts to friends and neighbours. Many go outside to view the supposed outline of a toad on the surface of the moon, for this creature, according to one…
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…with a “Mid-Autumn Festival” (Zhongqiu Jie). With a full moon shining in the heavens, “moon cakes” are eaten and offered as gifts to friends and neighbours. Many go outside to view the supposed outline of a toad on the surface of the moon, for this creature, according to one…
Read More

mooncake
…pastry traditionally consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
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…pastry traditionally consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
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Shine On, Harvest Moon Festival
…celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie), also known as the Moon Festival. It takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Traditions include family reunions, moon gazing, and sharing “mooncakes,” traditional round pastries made with a variety of sweet fillings. The mooncakes are…
Read More
…celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie), also known as the Moon Festival. It takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Traditions include family reunions, moon gazing, and sharing “mooncakes,” traditional round pastries made with a variety of sweet fillings. The mooncakes are…
Read More