Mid-Autumn FestivalMid-Autumn Festival Customs

The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon (祭月) is extremely ancient. Moon worship, lunar mythology, and autumn moon rituals had already emerged before the Zhou dynasty. The Book of Rites (《礼记》, Lǐjì) records:

“The Son of Heaven greets the sun in spring and offers to the moon in autumn.”

The phrase “offering to the moon in autumn” (秋夕月) refers specifically to ritual worship of the moon. Zhou rulers performed lunar sacrifices around the autumn equinox to thank the moon deity for the harvest. This tradition of autumnal moon worship became the direct ritual ancestor of the Mid-Autumn moon sacrifice.

At first, moon sacrifice belonged to the royal ritual system and had little connection with ordinary households. As society changed, however, the practice gradually moved from court to popular society, shifted from the autumn equinox to the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, and eventually became a festival custom practiced by the wider population. Traditional sayings also prescribed gender roles in worship, most famously “men do not worship the moon; women do not worship the Kitchen God” (男不拜月，女不祭灶). Because the moon was associated with yin and women were likewise traditionally classified as yin, women often presided over Mid-Autumn moon worship. This reflects the traditional Chinese philosophical concept of balancing yin and yang (阴阳调和).

Moon sacrifice is one of the oldest and most central customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival and developed from ancient worship of the natural moon. By the Zhou period, ceremonies of welcoming the autumn chill and worshipping the moon were already associated with this season. The Book of Rites records the phrase “at the end of autumn, offer to the moon” (秋暮夕月). As a major festival rite, moon sacrifice uses the moon as a vehicle for remembrance and expresses wishes for blessings and fulfillment.

The ceremony was traditionally solemn and carefully arranged. A large incense table was set out with offerings such as mooncakes, watermelon, apples, red dates, plums, and grapes. Mooncakes and watermelon were considered especially indispensable, and the watermelon was often carved into the shape of a lotus. Beneath the moon, a tablet representing the Moon Deity (月神) was positioned to face the moon, red candles were lit, and members of the household worshipped in sequence to pray for blessings. In parts of Guangdong, worshipping the Moon Lady (拜月娘) or moonlight (拜月光) remains a recognizable Mid-Autumn tradition.

Moon sacrifice embodies both reverence for and gratitude toward nature. The moon carries multiple layers of symbolism in Chinese culture—completeness, brightness, femininity, gentleness, and eternity. Through lunar worship, people express respect for the moon deity while also praying for family reunion and a harmonious, fulfilled life.

On Mid-Autumn night, a family can set up a small table on a balcony, in a courtyard, or in another open area, placing mooncakes, watermelon, apples, grapes, and other round foods upon it. Candles or other culturally appropriate offerings may be arranged facing the moon, after which family members can offer wishes together. Although the ritual is often simplified in modern cities, many households still preserve the custom of “making an offering to the moon”, setting out fruit and mooncakes beneath the night sky.

The custom of moon-viewing (赏月) can be traced back to the Wei and Jin periods. The Book of Jin (《晋书》) records people boating on rivers to appreciate the moon. From the Tang dynasty onward, moon-viewing became particularly fashionable among scholars and cultivated elites and can be regarded as one of the immediate sources from which the Mid-Autumn Festival developed. Tang culture was marked by a broad, romantic imagination, and the period produced many famous poems on the Mid-Autumn moon. By the middle and late Tang, Mid-Autumn had already become a festival celebrated widely across society. During the Song dynasty, it developed into a major festival centered on moon-viewing, drinking, and family gatherings.

Mid-Autumn lore also includes the famous story of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang visiting the Moon Palace. According to legend, Xuanzong dreamed that he traveled to the lunar palace and there encountered the music that became the celebrated “Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Robe” (《霓裳羽衣曲》). The story was later associated with the growing popularity of Mid-Autumn celebration. The Southern Song writer Wu Zimu (吴自牧) wrote in Mengliang Lu (《梦粱录》) that on Mid-Autumn people would “approach the window to enjoy the moon … arrange a family banquet and gather their children together in celebration of the festival.” The Tang poet Liu Yuxi (刘禹锡) also wrote in Playing with the Moon on the Fifteenth Night of the Eighth Month (《八月十五夜玩月》):

“Tonight Heaven will wash the whole world with the moon.”

Moon-viewing is one of the most representative Mid-Autumn customs. Although its roots can be traced to the Wei and Jin dynasties, it flourished particularly during the Tang and Song. The fullness of the moon symbolizes reunion and completeness. When the Mid-Autumn moon rises, families traditionally make offerings outdoors and, once the ritual is complete, sit together around a table to share food, admire the moon, and exchange good wishes.

Ways of enjoying the moon varied according to historical period and social class. In the Tang dynasty, scholars and poets invited one another to drink, compose poetry, and exchange verses beneath the moon. According to the Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi (《开元天宝遗事》), Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei went to the banks of the Taiye Pool on Mid-Autumn night to admire the moon reflected in the water, and the outing became an annual custom. Among ordinary families, moon-viewing was more intimate: relatives sat together, ate mooncakes and fruit, talked, and enjoyed one another’s company.

The full moon is the central image of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Chinese culture, roundness (圆) represents completeness, harmony, and fulfillment. On Mid-Autumn night, the full moon in the sky and the reunited family on earth mirror one another, giving form to one of the most enduring Chinese ideals of “completeness” (圆满). No matter how far apart people may be, looking up at the same moon has long served as one of the most poetic ways of imagining reunion.

Mid-Autumn night can be enjoyed in any open place with a clear view of the sky. City residents may visit parks, riverbanks, lakesides, or hilltops, while families can simply place chairs and a table on a balcony or in a courtyard, prepare mooncakes and fruit, and spend the evening together. It is one of the simplest and most accessible ways to take part in Mid-Autumn tradition.

Mooncakes were originally offerings made to the moon deity. The earliest surviving written references to a food called “mooncake” (月饼) appear in the Song dynasty. Wu Zimu’s Mengliang Lu already uses the term, although at that time mooncakes were not yet exclusively associated with Mid-Autumn. They appear to have become established festival foods around the Ming dynasty, when sources such as Dijing Jingwu Lüe (《帝京景物略》) record their growing popularity. Around the Ming-Qing transition, Mid-Autumn increasingly shifted from the Tang-Song emphasis on aesthetic moon-viewing toward family ethics and everyday social relationships, and mooncakes became correspondingly more important.

Many folk legends explain their origin. One claims that mooncakes date to the Tang dynasty, when Emperor Xizong ate them at Mid-Autumn and found them so delicious that he wrapped them in silk and bestowed them upon newly successful examination candidates. Another famous story connects mooncakes with Zhu Yuanzhang’s rebellion against the Yuan, claiming that messages reading “Rise in revolt on the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month” were hidden inside cakes and secretly distributed. Although this tale is not necessarily supported by historical evidence, it has added a legendary dimension to the mooncake tradition.

Eating mooncakes is the most representative food custom of Mid-Autumn. Because of their round shape, mooncakes symbolize great reunion (大团圆) and are used both as offerings and as gifts for relatives and friends. Today, eating mooncakes is considered an indispensable part of Mid-Autumn throughout northern and southern China.

Traditional mooncake-making is highly sophisticated. Basic ingredients include flour, sugar, and oil, with a wide range of fillings. Beijing-style mooncakes tend to be large and flaky, sweet without being overly rich; Suzhou-style mooncakes are known for crisp layered pastry and varied fillings; Cantonese mooncakes have thin crusts, abundant fillings, and a golden surface; and Chaoshan-style mooncakes are particularly associated with flaky pastry and sweet fillings. Their surfaces are commonly stamped with auspicious designs and phrases such as “flowers bloom beneath the full moon” (花好月圆), “Chang’e Flies to the Moon” (嫦娥奔月), “fortune” (福), or “longevity” (寿).

Traditional etiquette emphasizes sharing one mooncake among the entire family. The cake, representing the full moon, is cut into portions according to the total number of family members. Traditionally, even relatives away from home were symbolically included when calculating the portions; the cake was not supposed to be divided into too many or too few pieces, and each portion should be roughly equal. Beneath the Mid-Autumn moon, everyone receives a share—even if the family is physically separated, their hearts are imagined as remaining together. The act reinforces both family cohesion and the central festival theme of reunion.

The mooncake is a symbol of auspiciousness and reunion. Its roundness echoes the full moon and the ideal of a complete family, together forming the festival’s most recognizable visual and cultural image. Wherever a person may be, eating even a single piece of mooncake can immediately evoke the feeling of Mid-Autumn.

During the festival, visitors can sample many kinds of mooncakes or try making them by hand. Northern China is known for Beijing-, Shanxi-, and Shaanxi-style varieties, while southern China offers Cantonese, Suzhou, and Chaoshan styles. Mooncakes are also the most common Mid-Autumn gifts and are widely presented to relatives, friends, colleagues, and elders.

The Mid-Autumn custom of playing with lanterns belongs to the wider Chinese tradition of decorative lantern culture (灯彩文化), also seen at the Lantern Festival. Mid-Autumn lantern traditions can be traced at least to the Song dynasty. Zhou Mi’s Wulin Jiushi (《武林旧事》) records that on Mid-Autumn night “lamps and candles shone brilliantly until the night was over.” By the Ming and Qing periods, lantern play had become an important Mid-Autumn custom in southern China.

Unlike the grand government- or merchant-sponsored lantern displays associated with the Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn lanterns were more often small lanterns made by families and children, giving them a more domestic and popular character.

Playing with lanterns is one of Mid-Autumn’s major forms of festive entertainment. Traditional celebrations could include viewing lanterns, guessing riddles, drumming, music, and crowds filling the streets. Lanterns came in many ingenious forms, including sesame lanterns, eggshell lanterns, wood-shaving lanterns, straw lanterns, fish-scale lanterns, rice-husk lanterns, melon-seed lanterns, and lanterns shaped like birds, animals, flowers, and trees.

In Guangzhou and Hong Kong, Mid-Autumn night traditionally features “raising Mid-Autumn” (树中秋 / 竖中秋). Here, shu means “to raise upright.” With help from adults, children make rabbit lanterns, star-fruit lanterns, or square lanterns from bamboo strips and paper, hang them from short rods, and then raise them high on long poles. When countless colored lights appear across the city at night, the scene has traditionally been compared to a world made of crystal.

Releasing sky lanterns (天灯) has also been associated with Mid-Autumn in some places. The burning lantern rises slowly into the night sky like a moving star, carrying wishes for family safety, success, or enduring love.

Light symbolizes brightness and hope in Chinese culture. On Mid-Autumn night, the moon above and lanterns below reflect one another, forming the idealized image of “reunion in Heaven and on Earth.” Lantern play is therefore not merely entertainment but also an expression of hopes for a beautiful and prosperous life.

Families can make or purchase lanterns and light them safely in courtyards, on balconies, or in parks. Visitors may also attend local Mid-Autumn lantern fairs. Lantern traditions are especially lively in southern cities such as Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Foshan. For modern safety and environmental reasons, open-flame or airborne lanterns should only be used where legally permitted and properly supervised.

The connection between osmanthus (桂花) and Mid-Autumn is extremely old. According to lunar mythology, an enormous osmanthus tree grows in the Moon Palace. Wu Gang (吴刚) was condemned to cut it down as punishment, but each wound in the tree immediately healed, forcing him to continue chopping forever. The myth created an enduring symbolic connection between osmanthus, the moon, and Mid-Autumn.

The customs of appreciating osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine can therefore be understood as earthly extensions of this lunar mythology. Ancient writers sometimes called osmanthus an “immortal guest” (仙客) and osmanthus wine an “immortal brew” (仙酿), so drinking it beneath the Mid-Autumn moon could be imagined as sharing wine with immortals in the Moon Palace.

Mid-Autumn coincides with the season when osmanthus blossoms fill the air with fragrance. Moon-viewing is therefore often accompanied naturally by their scent. Osmanthus is one of China’s most celebrated traditional flowers and has long been admired for its refined form and far-reaching fragrance. Appreciating osmanthus at Mid-Autumn became a cultivated pleasure particularly associated with scholars.

Drinking osmanthus wine is another important seasonal custom. Fresh blossoms may be infused in clear grain liquor or yellow rice wine and allowed to mature until Mid-Autumn. The resulting drink carries a rich floral fragrance and has long been associated with autumn elegance. In some places, families drink osmanthus honey wine while admiring the flowers. Osmanthus wine also carries auspicious meaning because 桂 (gui, osmanthus) sounds similar to 贵 (gui, noble or precious); it may therefore be associated with fortune, status, and good luck.

Osmanthus symbolizes purity, refinement, elegance, and auspiciousness. The legend of the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace permanently linked the flower with the moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Appreciating its blossoms and drinking osmanthus wine combine appreciation of nature with prayers for a beautiful life.

Around Mid-Autumn, visitors can enjoy osmanthus in parks and gardens and use small amounts of edible blossoms in foods such as osmanthus cakes or lotus root sweetened with osmanthus syrup. Osmanthus wine is also widely available. Where appropriate, adults may prepare homemade infused wine in advance and share it with family on Mid-Autumn night.

The custom known as “walking the moon” (走月亮) is closely related to traditional moon worship. In older belief systems, moonlight was sometimes regarded as possessing the power to remove illness and misfortune. Because the Mid-Autumn moon is traditionally regarded as the roundest and brightest of the year, its beneficial power was likewise thought to be strongest on that night. People therefore left their homes and walked beneath the moon in order to “receive moonlight and gain the moon’s blessing.”

This tradition has been passed down in areas such as Shiyan in Hubei, where it forms a distinctive element of the Mid-Autumn night.

“Walking the moon” means leaving the house on Mid-Autumn night to stroll and enjoy the moonlight. It resembles Qingming spring outings (踏青) and the Lantern Festival custom of “walking away the hundred illnesses” (走百病): all involve leaving home on a particular festival night or day and spending time outdoors in nature.

People may walk in small groups along rivers, field paths, bridges, or streets. Under a clear moon and cool autumn air, they talk while appreciating the night scenery. Children may carry lanterns and play beneath the moon. In traditional belief, the walk also had a protective function: exposure to the moonlight was thought to absorb lunar essence, drive away illness, and bring good fortune.

Walking the moon reflects the Chinese ideal of “the unity of humanity and nature” (天人合一). On the night of the full moon, people step outside and move through the moonlit landscape, combining closeness to nature with hopes for health and well-being. Because the moon is traditionally associated with yin, the practice was also interpreted within older ideas of absorbing the moon’s vital essence.

On Mid-Autumn night, friends or family can simply take a moonlit walk together. Urban residents may choose a park path, riverside promenade, lakefront, or bridge. Comfortable shoes and appropriate clothing for the cooler autumn evening are sufficient.

The custom of “stealing moon vegetables” (偷月亮菜) comes from ancient Dong beliefs concerning the moon deity. According to legend, on Mid-Autumn night celestial maidens from the Moon Palace scatter sweet dew upon the human world. Vegetables and melons touched by this dew acquire a special spiritual blessing, and those who “steal” them symbolically receive the favor of the lunar immortals.

The tradition has been preserved for generations in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County, Hunan, where it has become one of the most distinctive local Mid-Autumn customs.

According to Dong tradition, unmarried young women may carry flowered umbrellas under the moon and quietly enter the vegetable plot belonging to a young man they admire. After taking vegetables, they deliberately call out something like:

“Hey! I’ve taken your vegetables!”

The playful “theft” serves as a way of expressing affection. Young men also participate in forms of “stealing moon vegetables” in hopes of receiving blessings from the celestial maidens, but traditionally they were expected to cook and eat what they took outdoors rather than bring it home. Curiously, if the owner of the vegetable plot loudly scolded the “thief,” the event could be interpreted as even more auspicious.

“Stealing moon vegetables” ingeniously combines moon worship with Dong courtship culture. It expresses reverence toward the moon deity while creating a socially recognized space in which unmarried young people can communicate affection. In traditional society, the reversal whereby “stealing” becomes fortunate reveals the humor, playfulness, and romantic imagination characteristic of many folk traditions.

Visitors can observe the custom in Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County during Mid-Autumn. It is best to watch from an appropriate distance and avoid interrupting local participants. If invited to join, visitors should follow local guidance and respect community etiquette.

Customs such as burning fantowers (烧番塔) and fire-dragon dancing (舞火龙) are often connected with older traditions of fire worship. Fire was believed to possess the power to repel harmful forces, dispel calamity, and bring light. Lighting great fires on Mid-Autumn night could therefore serve as both an act of protection and a prayer for future good fortune.

These traditions have been transmitted for centuries in places such as Foshan in Guangdong and parts of Hunan. The “playing with pagodas” (耍宝塔) tradition of Xinshi Ancient Town in Miluo is said to date from the late Yuan and early Ming period and to share cultural roots with the local dragon-boat traditions honoring Qu Yuan. A rite once connected with prayers for safe water transport gradually developed into a Mid-Autumn celebration symbolizing peace in the country, family reunion, and abundant harvests.

In the Foshan region, burning a fantower involves building a tower-shaped structure from bricks or tiles, filling the interior with firewood or straw, and setting it alight on Mid-Autumn night. People interpret the blazing flames as a wish that life will become increasingly prosperous—“red and flourishing” (红红火火). The custom has been included on intangible cultural heritage lists.

The fire-dragon dance is another major Mid-Autumn tradition in parts of Guangdong. Handmade dragons are carried through villages in processions, often with burning incense inserted into the body. Similar grass-dragon dances have been performed for centuries in places such as Leiyang in Hunan. Against the bright Mid-Autumn moon, the glowing dragon becomes a striking meeting point between fire imagery and lunar celebration.

Burning towers and dancing fire dragons reflect popular reverence for fire. Fire represents light, warmth, vitality, and hope. When flames are raised beneath the Mid-Autumn moon, they create a symbolic dialogue between moonlight and earthly fire. The brighter and stronger the flames, the more prosperous the coming year is believed to be.

Visitors can watch these traditions in places such as Foshan or Miluo where organized performances are held. Because both activities involve large fires, they should only be observed from designated viewing areas and under local safety arrangements.

The origin of Mid-Autumn Bobing (中秋博饼) is commonly associated with the late Ming and early Qing periods. According to popular tradition, when the national hero Zheng Chenggong (郑成功, Koxinga) was training naval forces in Xiamen, he ordered one of his commanders to devise a dice game to ease soldiers’ homesickness during Mid-Autumn. The men cast dice and competed for festival cakes, allowing them to forget their longing for home for a time.

The custom was subsequently passed down throughout southern Fujian and became an indispensable part of Mid-Autumn. Today, bobing has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage tradition in Fujian.

Bobing is especially associated with Xiamen and the Minnan region. Participants sit around a table and take turns throwing six dice into a large porcelain bowl. Different combinations correspond to ranks derived from the traditional imperial examination system, such as Zhuangyuan (状元, top graduate), Bangyan (榜眼, second place), and Tanhua (探花, third place), with prizes awarded according to the result. Traditionally, the prizes were mooncakes, and the “Zhuangyuan” winner received the largest one.

The sound of dice rattling in the bowl is central to the festive atmosphere. People cheer at favorable throws and groan at poor ones, making bobing a lively social activity. More than a contest, it provides relatives and friends with a way to gather, laugh, and share the festival together. After centuries of practice, it has become one of Minnan’s defining Mid-Autumn traditions.

Bobing combines the Mid-Autumn theme of reunion with the Minnan cultural spirit often summarized by the phrase “only those who dare to strive can win” (爱拼才会赢). Winning matters less than the shared experience: around the bowl of dice, people strengthen relationships and enjoy the warmth of gathering together.

During Mid-Autumn, visitors to Xiamen and other parts of southern Fujian can often join bobing events held by hotels, shopping centers, communities, or cultural institutions. The rules are relatively easy to learn, and the emphasis is on participation and experiencing the lively Minnan atmosphere.