The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated by many East and Southeast Asian countries.
In the past, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated at harvest time. Ancient Chinese emperors honored the moon in autumn to thank it for the harvest. The ordinary people took the Mid-Autumn Festival to be a celebration of their hard work and harvest. Nowadays, people mainly celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival as a time for family reunions.
The common customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival include family members eating dinner together, sharing mooncakes (and other round shaped desserts) to symbolize happiness & reunion, honoring the moon with gifts, displaying lanterns, and other regional activities.