FestivalEast Asia · China
Mid-Autumn Festival
No rule yet
Nobody has written a rule for this observance yet, so the calendar does not put it on a day. A name with a made-up date beside it would be worse than a name on its own.
In short
The harvest moon, watched over mooncakes.
The story
The harvest moon, and the story of Chang'e, who took the elixir of immortality and rose to the moon, where she is still - her husband Hou Yi laying out her favourite food in the courtyard once a year. It is the second largest festival of the Chinese year. Lunisolar calendar, not computed here.
Retold from the Gujarati household practice
Why it matters
The harvest full moon, and the second most important family gathering of the Chinese year. Mooncakes are given and cut into wedges so that everyone present has a piece of one cake; Chang-e is on the moon being looked at, and absence is the theme - the moon is round where the family is not.
What people do
Mooncakes are given and shared, cut into as many pieces as there are people. Families eat outside and look at the moon. Lanterns are lit and carried by children, and in Vietnam the same night belongs mostly to them.
Retold from the Gujarati household practice
Told differently elsewhere
Kept as Chuseok in Korea and Tsukimi in Japan on the same full moon, and as Tet Trung Thu in Vietnam, where it belongs mainly to children. Cantonese lantern parades, Teochew and Suzhou mooncake styles, and in Hong Kong the Tai Hang fire dragon dance.
This text has not been checked by a reviewer yet.
Tithi Calendar on your phone
The panchang for your own city, with the choghadiya, festivals and reminders. It works without the internet.