Mid-Autumn Festival Sep 17, 2024

Mid-Autumn Festival

For many Asian cultures, the point at which the moon reaches its fullest during the harvest season marks the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. It"s traditionally observed on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Dating back more than 3,000 years to China"s Shang Dynasty, this festival celebrates moon watching and the end of the harvest season. During the festivities, mooncakes—round delicacies filled with sweet bean paste, salted egg yolks, or lotus seeds—are often shared among friends and family. Lanterns of different shapes, sizes, and hues, symbolizing good fortune, illuminate the night. Asian communities across the world come together to showcase a mélange of cultural performances, heartfelt renditions of the Moon Festival"s poetic tales.

© Victor Y. Zhuo/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Sep 17, 2018Gateway to America
Sep 17, 2019Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Sep 17, 2020Citizenship Day and Constitution Day
Sep 17, 2021Eye of the cave
Sep 17, 2022Oktoberfest
Sep 17, 2023Cuban tody, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Cuba
Sep 17, 2025A young bull moose in Denali National Park, Alaska

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 22, 2018Travel Sunday: On the Ganges in Varanasi, India
Feb 14, 2022Maldives
Feb 15, 2020Whales in winter
Aug 26, 2024Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Feb 7, 2023Village of Labro, Italy
Nov 19, 2022Zion National Park turns 103
Sep 1, 2025Labor Day parade in 1915 Chicago
Apr 27, 2020That s quite a schnoz, baby tapir
Sep 7, 2020Take a break! It s Labor Day!
Dec 3, 2019It’s Giving Tuesday
Jun 15, 2021Are you older than this lake?
Jul 9, 2018Gauchos showcase Argentina’s independent spirit
Aug 7, 2023National Lighthouse Day
Aug 17, 2020A giant relic in Java
Apr 20, 2026National Park Week
May 26, 2022Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
Mar 26, 2018The Unfinished Obelisk near Aswan, Egypt
Oct 18, 2023Alaska Day
Jul 25, 2020Going with the floe
Apr 15, 2021Jackie Robinson Day
Nov 13, 2021Ronda, Spain
Nov 24, 2020Feel the spray in Monterey
Sep 25, 2025Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
May 21, 2023Pont dArcole over the Seine river, Paris, France
Jul 29, 2023International Tiger Day
Oct 5, 2022World Teachers Day
Aug 9, 2024International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples
Aug 9, 2022International Day of the World s Indigenous Peoples
Mar 2, 2020And to think that I saw it in Cappadocia
Feb 8, 2021A hero for the 21st century