With the end of summer approaching, most look forward to Labor Day as the next holiday stepping into the Fall season. Few know about another holiday, known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated thousands of years ago in China, but is now widely celebrated by many other ethnicities such as Vietnamese, Malaysians, and Filipinos among others.

Celebrated on the 15^th day of the 8^th month of the Lunar calendar, it is believed to signify the autumnal equinox when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. There are a variety of Chinese and Vietnamese legends describing why we celebrate the moon at its fullest; most saying that it is a day to celebrate and honor a moon goddess. Families and friends celebrate this holiday by coming together to admire the moon, and eating traditional mooncakes and pomelos.

Over time, the Mid-Autumn Festival has developed into a larger occasion celebrating not only the moon, but lanterns as well, making the Mid-Autumn Festival sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival. Traditionally, children will light lanterns in a processional to show the deities their way to earth. Additionally, lion dances are performed for luck and fortune.

Although a lesser known Lunar holiday than Lunar New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just as important in many Asian cultures. The festival symbolizes the turn of summer, and hope that the new harvest will be plentiful.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival from all of us at EPMG!