Holidays + Festivals
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, the Moon Cake Festival, the Lantern Festival, and the Children’s Festival, is one of the most important holidays in China and other countries in Asia.
Today is the Moon Festival, which is celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Moon Festival was traditionally held to celebrate the successful harvesting of rice or wheat.
It has evolved into time to gather with family and friends outdoors to watch the moon and eat moon cakes. Celebrants also carry colourful lanterns.
Colourful LanternsÂ
Colourful lanterns are sold at stationery shops and street markets throughout Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and other communities with large Chinese populations.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as the Children’s Festival in Vietnam, where it is the second most important holiday of the yea
Parks, beaches, and the shores of rivers and lakes are among the favoured spots to celebrate the Moon Festival.
Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island is one of the most popular places to view the moon in Hong Kong.
Other popular spots include Stanley and Repulse Bay on Southern Hong Kong Island and the shores of the Shing Moon River in Shatin in the New Territories.
Super Moon
According to tradition, the moon is at it roundest and brightest during the moon festival, but this is not actually true.Â
The fullest moon falls near the moon festival, but not usually on the exact date.
This year is an exception. Not only will the fullest moon will fall on 27 September this year, it will also be a Super Moon, which happens on average once a year.
A Super Moon is an unusually large moon of a golden hue, and this year’s Super Moon will coincide with a Total Lunar Eclipse, which will be visible in most parts of the world.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that it will not be visible in East Asia.Â