Library Calendar

Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival) is a harvest festival celebrated on August 15^th on Lunar Calendar in China and other East Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Singapore. This year, Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 13th (Friday) on American calendar. It is the second most important festival in China after Chinese New Year and takes its name from the fact that it is always celebrated in the middle of the autumn season. The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest. For Chinese people, the festival means family reunion and harmony, since Chinese people believe a full moon symbolizes reunion, harmony, and happiness.

The Moon Cake is the special food of Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in various flavors according to the region. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family, so it is easy to understand how the eating of moon cakes under the round moon can evoke longing for distant relatives and friends. Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.

Join us! as we celebrate the Moon Festival by learning the legend story of Mid-Autumn Festival, Make and taste mooncakes and make Chinise Paper moons.