Moon Festival for Kids

This Festival is the equivalent of Thanksgiving Day and its origins go back to ancient times, when people would get together on the 15th day of the 8th moon (around September or October in our Calendar) on a day of thanksgiving for a good rice harvest. This is the time when crops and fruits are at their best and the weather is pleasant.

In ancient China, emperors would make offerings and sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn.

An so it is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Autumn in the Chinese Calendar falls on the seventh, eighth and ninth lunar months.

Nowadays, families get together with friends to celebrate and enjoy the moon and the savory Mooncakes.

In celebrations around the world, there are the usual Dragon Parades, Lion Dances, and festivities of the season. Take a look at this Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in San Francisco, just click on the arrow:

WHAT ARE MOONCAKES?

These are traditional Chinese pastries, filled with a sweet paste. The most common fillings are made of coconut, lotus seed or egg yolks.

According to the legends, Mooncakes were responsible for freeing a town under Mongol rule. A few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a rebel army commander had sent Mooncakes to the towns people. There were notes hidden inside the Mooncakes, basically coordinating the effort to rise up at midnight the night of the festival, and attack their captors. The rebellion succeeded and the town was freed from the Mongols, thanks to the Mooncakes!

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