10 Facts About the Mid-Autumn Festival You Might Have Forgotten

The time has come to stuff ourselves with mooncakes soon. And with the kinds of selections we’re getting when it comes to snow skin and traditional mooncakes, it’s going to be hard to keep the kilos down.

But the mid-autumn festival is so much more than just delectable round goodies. Here’s what you have to know about this meaningful time.

1. Why It’s Called Mid-Autumn

Let’s start off with something easy. It’s because the festival is supposed to happen smack in the middle of autumn – hence its name.

Though, of course, it doesn’t really apply to us since we have summer every season.

2. There’s No Exact Date Every Year

The date of the mid-autumn festival changes every year. It is determined by the Lunar calendar and it usually falls between the months of September and October. This year (2019), it falls on the…Friday the 13th, on 13 September 2019.

3. Family Reunions Happen At This Time

We all know the Chinese’s reunion dinner is on Chinese New Year Eve, but did you know Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for families to get together too? Nothing like a good dinner around the table with chats and laughter. And familiar faces.

4. There’s a Symbolism in Eating Mooncakes

The roundness symbolises togetherness and completeness. Giving mooncakes express best wishes and family love.

5. Where Is The Festival Celebrated?

Our fellow neighbours also take part in the mid-autumn festivities – Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam and even the Philippines. So yeah, it’s not just us.

6. Mid-Autumn Festival Was Once the Valentine’s Day of China

Single men and women paid homage “the old man on the moon” aka the God who brings people together in unity in marriage.

7. There are Mid-Autumn Tours in China

Yes, the Chinese take the mid-autumn festival seriously. Expect to find buses and trains sold out if you don’t make your bookings in advance. Needless to say, hotels and AirBnBs are also going to run on the more expensive side.

8. DIY Mooncake Classes in Singapore

Some places offer you a Mooncake DIY course – imagine getting to eat a mooncake you made from scratch! After all, who wants a bubble tea mooncake when you can have a mooncake with your name?

9. Smuggled Mooncakes

We’ve learnt about this before, but how many of us remember this? Messages used to be smuggled in mooncakes to help overthrow the Mongolian rule during the Yuan dynasty.

In other words, you can say that WhatsApp is mooncakes’ great, great, great grandchild.

10. Not Always During a Full Moon

The festival doesn’t necessarily happen during a full moon. It’s more likely for a full moon to happen two days into the festival.

So, how many of these Mid-Autumn Festival facts do you know? Impress them with all the mid-autumn trivia you know!