Vietnam
Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the traditional festivals of Vietnam, considered as "Children's Festival", so on this occasion, on the streets there are often many lanterns, star lanterns, drums, masks, lion heads... which are all toys for children. On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, families or neighborhoods will have a Mid-Autumn Festival program, breaking the feast for children with art programs, games and fruit trays, usually including grapefruit, persimmons and moon cakes to worship the full moon... After that, everyone carries lanterns together, watches lion dances, watches the moon and breaks the feast.
Not only the elaborate lion dances of adults but also the lion dances of children are very welcome. When the children dance and knock on doors, people will reward the lion dance troupe with some coins for good luck.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion meal, Vietnamese families will chat and exchange greetings, and children and grandchildren will wish their grandparents good health. In particular, enjoying moon cakes and sticky rice cakes with strong tea is a cultural beauty that has been maintained through many generations of Vietnamese people every Mid-Autumn Festival.
China
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second largest festival in China, after the Lunar New Year. It originated during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC), when people realized that the moon's cycle affected harvests and began holding sacrificial ceremonies on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month.
Nowadays, for Chinese people, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a Reunion Festival, an occasion for family members to reunite and gather together. Although each region of this vast country has different customs for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, every family will hang red lanterns, dance lion dances, eat moon cakes and watch the moon in the same way. Some localities also organize lantern festivals, lion dances and lion dances... or worship the moon, release flower lanterns, solve riddles... Chinese children will also join lion dance troupes and have fun on the full moon night.
The traditional food during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China is the moon cake, a round cake symbolizing completeness and perfection. The Chinese moon cake is very similar to the Vietnamese moon cake with a thin crust, lotus seed, mung bean, salted egg filling, etc. In each region of China, this traditional cake will have different variations.
Hong Kong
The attraction for tourists to Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival is the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Parade. The Tai Hang Dragon is 67 meters long, made of straw and covered with tens of thousands of burning incense sticks. The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance creates a very special scene of fire and smoke. This parade has become an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong, leaving a deep impression on every visitor who participates.
Along with the vibrant traditional dragon dance, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong is also immersed in the brilliant light of lanterns of all shapes, colors and sizes. All blend together to create the special charm of the port city every time it welcomes the Reunion Festival.
Japan
Although Japan no longer uses the lunar calendar, the people of the Land of the Rising Sun still celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival twice a year. The first festival, called Zyuyoga, is associated with the Otsukimi moon-viewing custom and usually takes place on August 15; the second festival, called Zyusanya, is held on October 13. According to custom, if one attends the first moon festival, one must attend the last tooth festival if one does not want to have bad luck.
Otsukimi moon viewing is held to honor the autumn moon, at the time when the moon is at its fullest according to Japanese beliefs. During this festival, Japanese people will watch the moon, enjoy traditional foods and participate in fun games.
Traditional foods commonly eaten in Japan on August 15 include chestnuts, sweet potatoes, taro, pumpkins, noodles such as soba, ramen and especially tsukimi dango. The soft round tsukimi dango represent the moon and are made from glutinous rice flour and honey. They are usually skewered on bamboo sticks and grilled until hot and crispy before being enjoyed with green tea.
The Japanese will display tsukimi dango in a triangular shape with a susuki grass vase on a wooden shelf, then place it in a place where they can enjoy it while admiring the moon most clearly. Japanese children, especially boys, are often given carp lanterns by their parents, symbolizing strength, intelligence, courage and patience, to participate in the lantern parade.
Taiwan
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Taiwanese people must eat barbecue together with family and friends.
Grilling meat during the Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, happiness, and warmth when the whole family gathers around the charcoal stove to grill and enjoy delicious pieces of meat. If you travel to Taiwan during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you will be immersed in the joyful and bustling festival atmosphere of the people and don't forget to enjoy this special "reunion grilled meat" dish!
Korea
In Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as Chuseok, which literally means autumn night, the most beautiful full moon night of the year. This is the biggest holiday in this country, taking place throughout the harvest season, so people usually have 3 consecutive days off from August 14 to 16 of the lunar calendar. Chuseok is not only a harvest festival but also a day to remember the deceased, a day of family reunion.
During this time, they spend time with their families, even if their children live far away, they must return to reunite with their parents. During Chuseok, Koreans often enjoy traditional dishes such as songpyeon (a kind of moon-shaped rice cake), pan-fried meatballs, mung bean cakes and rice wine. In addition, they often give each other meaningful gifts such as beef, cooking oil, fruits and ginseng on this occasion. This is also the occasion for many families to visit their ancestors' graves, offering newly harvested products such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, rice cakes... to show their respect. In the evening, children wear hanbok - traditional Korean costumes and dance the famous Ganggangsullae dance under the bright moonlight.
Today, Chuseok is considered a Thanksgiving holiday in Korea, a day when people express gratitude to their ancestors.
Chosen
In Korea, people call the Mid-Autumn Festival Thu Tich Tiet (Autumn Night Festival). On this day, similar to other countries celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in Asia, Koreans will also watch the moon together and play games such as tug of war, perform music and dance...
Young girls will wear their most beautiful costumes to participate in this festival. Koreans often eat half-moon shaped cakes made from rice flour with fillings of beans, jam, apples, etc. All households in Korea will steam cakes and give them to each other on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Laos
For Lao people, they call the Mid-Autumn Festival Nguyet Phuc Tiet - the festival of blessing moon, which takes place during a full moon week in the 12th month of the Buddhist calendar. This festival is not only for children but also an occasion for boys and girls to gather to sing and dance all night long. Adults will sit and enjoy tea and watch the moon.
The center of this festival in Laos is Pha That Luang, the most sacred and famous stupa in the Land of a Million Elephants. People will light candles all over Pha That Luang and decorate it brilliantly. In addition, entertainment and dining activities will be organized in many forms.
Cambodia
Unlike the Mid-Autumn Festival in other Asian countries, people in this country do not celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month but in mid-December. This festival is called Ok Om Pok - Bai Nguyet Tiet, meaning "worshiping the moon". This festival takes place mainly in the evening. In the morning, people will worship the moon with offerings of cassava soup, sugarcane juice, and flat rice. In the evening, people will offer flat rice, bananas, potatoes, sugarcane, cassava soup, etc.
After setting up the tray of food on the porch and praying and worshiping, adults will take flat rice and stuff it into the children's mouths, the more the better. This custom is to pray for good luck for the children and their families. In addition to breaking the feast, Cambodians also hold a lantern-releasing competition on the Mid-Autumn Festival to send their prayers and beliefs to the moon god like other countries celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. The lanterns flying high symbolize the wishes and beliefs of the releasers sent to the moon god, to pray for peace and luck.
Myanmar
Also known by many names such as Full Moon Festival, Quang Minh Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival in Myanmar is no less exciting. On the full moon night, families light up lanterns, creating a sparkling and magical space, people gather together to watch dances, plays and participate in many exciting night activities to express joy for a bountiful harvest.
At the same time, Myanmar people will flock to pagodas like other countries celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival to pray, as well as admire the sparkling space of the full moon on this occasion.
Malaysia
In recent years, in addition to the Mooncake Festival (September 19-21), Malaysia also has a Lantern Festival on September 16. Due to the large Chinese population, the Mid-Autumn Festival here is as bustling as in China. People here celebrate the festival to express joy at the end of a bumper harvest, prosperity, warmth and peace. The capital Kuala Lumpur and cities with a large Chinese population such as Penang, Ipoh... are the places where the biggest Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated.
During the festival season, moon cakes are sold at almost every stall. The streets are decorated with thousands of colorful lanterns. Newspapers and television also have content about this traditional holiday. People also flock to the streets to have fun, immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere with games such as lion dances, dragon dances and other popular entertainment activities. But the most important tradition of the holiday is still family reunion and eating moon cakes together.
Philippines
Filipinos celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with great pomp and circumstance. The Mid-Autumn Festival was originally celebrated by the Chinese and passed down to the local people. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese living in the Philippines often make mooncakes and share them with all their relatives, friends and neighbors.
Mooncakes in the Philippines are called hopia (delicious baked cakes), with many versions such as: hopiang mungo (mung bean baked cakes), hopiang baboy (pork baked cakes), hopiang ube (purple sweet potato baked cakes). On this day, Filipinos also often participate in a game called Mid-Autumn Dice.
Singapore
As a country with a large Chinese population, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore is also highly regarded. This is an occasion for people to strengthen relationships, express gratitude, and for family members to gather and enjoy a piece of cake and a cup of tea. Mooncakes in Singapore have a different flavor than those in China, with a variety of fillings such as green tea, pumpkin... but the most popular is durian.
At the same time, Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore also takes place with many exciting and fun activities, the most popular activity of the festival is the lantern procession. A few weeks before the festival begins, colorful lanterns will be decorated in many places on the island.
As for tourists coming to Singapore this season, they will experience unique cultural activities. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Merlion sea lion in Marina Bay - the tourist symbol of Singapore - will become more sparkling than ever when the government changes its color. The colored lights are projected from the left side of the Merlion, creating a sea lion with the shape and colorful colors of a Mid-Autumn Festival lantern.
Thailand
The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Land of Golden Pagodas is different from other countries, they do not carry lanterns or dance with lions... The Mid-Autumn Festival in Thailand is called "moon praying ceremony", held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, associated with the story of eight fairies flying to the moon, bringing peaches to celebrate the birthday of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Before the festival, the cities will be decorated brightly. Trang and Hat Yai are two cities with a large concentration of Thai-Chinese people, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is very crowded. On the full moon day, Thai people will return home to reunite. Especially, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone must participate in the moon worship ceremony. They will sit around the altar of Bodhisattva Guanyin and the Eight Immortals to pray for the best things. On the altar will be displayed peaches and moon cakes. According to Thai beliefs, the Eight Immortals will help bring peaches to the moon to wish Bodhisattva Guanyin a long life and witness everyone's wishes. Thai moon cakes are also shaped like peaches and people will eat grapefruit, a round fruit symbolizing fulfillment, reunion and sweetness. After that, they release sparkling sky lanterns together and pray for all good luck and happiness to come.
