Unique Mid-Autumn Festival Customs Around the World

Not only in Vietnam, many other Asian countries also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.

Vietnam – The Mid-Autumn Festival is for Children

The Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam is a celebration for children, associated with the legends of Chang’e and Cuội who gazes at the moon. Children often carry star-shaped lanterns, wear masks, and form lion dance troupes, drumming joyfully.

During this time, Vietnamese families typically prepare fruit and cakes to honor the moon. Children eagerly look forward to the Mid-Autumn Festival as it is the time when relatives buy them many toys and treats. There are specific types of cakes that are traditionally available only during this festival, such as mooncakes and baked mooncakes. Traditional toys for children in the past included star-shaped lanterns, lanterns, and toy soldiers, which were not as diverse as today’s offerings.

In many places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an occasion for contests of food displays and cake-making among women. Children participate in lantern parades and sing traditional songs. When the moon rises high, children gather around a tray filled with various fruits and cakes, enjoying the moon-viewing feast until late at night. The traditional moon-viewing tray for Vietnamese children usually consists of baked mooncakes, sticky mooncakes, a dog made from grapefruit skin, and seasonal fruits like bananas, persimmons, custard apples, and sugarcane.

China – The Mid-Autumn Festival is the Reunion Festival

In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Reunion Festival. This is a time when all family members gather together. Anyone working far away returns to their hometown to reunite with family and enjoy a meal together.

After the family meal, members gather to appreciate the moon and eat mooncakes under the shimmering lanterns. One of the essential activities during the Mid-Autumn Festival for the Chinese is lantern parades and dragon dances. People believe that dragon dances will bring good luck and peace to each family.

Chinese families often hang lanterns in front of their homes and on the streets during this festival. On the night of the full moon, they release lanterns on rivers and release Kong Ming lanterns into the sky to pray for good fortune and happiness for their families and loved ones. They also organize lantern parades for children, lion and dragon dances, and puppetry performances in the streets.

Mooncakes in China are similar to those in Vietnam, with a thin outer crust filled with mung bean paste, lotus seeds, and salted egg yolk, baked until golden. Traditional mooncakes vary by region in China, adapting to local tastes. The round shape of the mooncake symbolizes completeness and reunion. The atmosphere during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China is joyful, with children playing throughout the day.

Japan – Moon Viewing Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival was introduced to Japan from China over 1,000 years ago. However, unlike the Chinese who eat mooncakes, the Japanese eat rice dumplings during this festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is called “Juugoya” (the night of the fifteenth) or “Tsukimi” (moon viewing).

Despite the abolition of the lunar calendar in favor of the solar calendar after the Meiji Restoration (around the late 19th century), the tradition of moon viewing on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival is still preserved in Japan, with some temples and shrines organizing special moon-viewing events during this holiday.

During this festival, the Japanese admire the moon and enjoy traditional foods, especially Tsukimi dango – small round rice cakes symbolizing the moon in the sky. Additionally, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they also eat sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and various noodles like soba and ramen.

South Korea – Festival of Abundant Harvest and Ancestor Worship

For South Koreans, this is one of the biggest festivals of the year (also known as Chuseok or Hangawi), celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, marking a harvest festival and giving thanks to ancestors.

This is an opportunity for family members to reunite, enjoy moon viewing, and feast together. Families prepare rice cakes shaped like crescent moons, covered with seaweed, beans, and peanuts, along with other foods on the altar. This is also a time for people to express their respect for their ancestors. They often visit ancestral graves, clean the area around the graves, a custom similar to the Qingming Festival’s grave sweeping ritual. Children wear traditional clothing like adults, enjoy playing, and eat mooncakes.

South Korean mooncakes are called Songpyeon. They are made from glutinous rice flour, mung beans, sugar, and pine leaves. They are shaped like half-moons rather than being round or square like mooncakes in many other Asian countries. In addition to the traditional white color, these cakes can also be made in pink, dark green, yellow, and other colors.

During this time, people wear Hanbok and enjoy traditional dishes such as songpyeon, pan-fried meatballs, mung bean cakes, and drink sindoju…

North Korea – Autumn Night Festival

North Koreans refer to the Mid-Autumn Festival as “Chuseok” (Autumn Night Festival). Families steam cakes and give them as gifts to each other. The cakes are shaped like half-moons, made from rice flour, and filled with beans, jams, and apples. The name comes from the fact that the cakes expand while being steamed.

As night falls, families gather to enjoy the moon while participating in tug-of-war competitions, wrestling, or performing songs and dances. Young women wear beautiful traditional costumes during the festival and play games beneath large trees.

Singapore – A Vibrant Mid-Autumn Festival

In Singapore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival, calculated according to the lunar calendar, falls on the 15th day of the 8th month. This is a time when the moon is high, and children sing and dance while enjoying mooncakes. The streets during these days are decorated with lanterns and symbols representing the festival.

For the people of the Lion Island nation, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an excellent opportunity for friendly gatherings, expressing gratitude, and sending the best wishes to family, friends, and business partners.

Singapore is a famous tourist destination, and locals never miss the chance to attract visitors during this festival. They decorate Orchard Road—the shopping paradise, the riverside, Chinatown, and many other locations to welcome tourists from around the world.

The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in Singapore are vibrant. In Sengkang Square, people gather to experience exciting games. This is a time for the Chinese community in Singapore to showcase their rich and diverse cultural heritage in Chinatown, with colorful lanterns, families gathering together, sharing joy with delicious mooncakes and strong tea.

Philippines, Indonesia: Lion Dance Parades Fill the Streets

Chinese expatriates and locals living in the Philippines and Indonesia always have unique activities to welcome the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. In Chinatown, lion dance troupes parade through the streets. People wear traditional costumes, light lanterns, and sing joyfully.

Malaysia – Mid-Autumn is the Festival Season

In recent years, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Malaysia has not only celebrated the Mooncake Festival (September 19-21) but also the Lantern Festival on September 16. During this time, the streets are adorned with hundreds and thousands of colorful lanterns. This is an opportunity for Malaysians and tourists to step out and immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere.

Myanmar – A Bright Lantern Festival

In Myanmar, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known as “Full Moon Festival” or “Festival of Brightness.” On this night, every household lights lanterns, illuminating the city with a radiant glow. People also enjoy watching performances, dance, movies, and many other lively activities during this festive night.

Laos – A Festival of Blessed Moon

The Laotians refer to the Mid-Autumn Festival as the Festival of Blessed Moon, where everyone gathers with family to enjoy tea and admire the moon. As dusk falls, young men and women dance and sing the night away.

Cambodia – The “Bai Nguyet Tet” Festival

On the 15th day, Cambodians celebrate the traditional “Bai Nguyet Tet” (Moon Worship Festival). Early that morning, people prepare offerings for the moon, including fresh flowers, cassava soup, flat rice, and sugarcane juice.

In the evening, people arrange the offerings on a tray, place it on a large mat, and sit waiting for the moonrise. When the moon rises above the branches, everyone sincerely worships the moon, praying for blessings. Afterwards, the elders fill the mouths of children with flat rice until they can’t fit anymore, wishing for completeness and good fortune.

Thailand – The “Moon Worship Festival”

In Thailand, the Mid-Autumn Festival, known as the “Moon Worship Festival,” features many exciting activities. People participate in the moon worship ceremony, sitting around a table filled with seasonal delicacies like peaches, durians, mooncakes, and exchanging good wishes. Notably, pomelo is an essential fruit on the traditional offering table, symbolizing completeness and togetherness.

As a result, mooncakes in Thailand are often shaped like peaches. However, today, the most popular mooncake in Thailand is the baked mooncake filled with salted egg yolk and durian, symbolizing the full moon.

Taiwan – Outdoor Barbecue Party

Similar to Vietnam, Taiwanese people also offer fruits on this day and enjoy mooncakes while gathering with family.

In Taiwan, many families hold outdoor barbecues during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Taiwanese families typically share a family meal. Due to the long holiday, many people take the opportunity to reunite with their families.

Eating pomelo during the Mid-Autumn Festival: The word for pomelo in Chinese sounds similar to the word for “friend,” so eating pomelo symbolizes peace and wishes for safety for loved ones and friends.

What’s special in Taiwan is that many families host outdoor barbecue parties during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This barbecue tradition began quite casually, sparked by a long-standing advertisement in Taiwan with the slogan: “One family grills meat, and the whole neighborhood smells good.” The ad ran for many years, becoming familiar and popular in Taiwan, even becoming a habit among the Taiwanese. Now, grilled meat and barbecued dishes have become indispensable during this festival. You might even see people slicing mooncakes and placing them on the grill, then enjoying them deliciously.

• Where did the Mid-Autumn Festival originate?
• How to choose mooncakes to ensure food safety
• What do Asian countries eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival?