Over the moon for Mid-Autumn

Vice Consul Li Chong explains significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated by Chinese families this week

This week, Chinese families around the world celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or the Mooncake Festival after the treats that are shared to mark the occasion.

To enlighten people in Pakistan about the significance of the festival, which holds immense importance in Chinese culture, Li Chong, the vice consul at China’s consulate in Karachi shared his comments.

“The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually in early September to early October of the Gregorian calendar with full moon at night,” he said. “It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon, an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck,” he explained, adding that adults will usually savour mooncakes of several varieties with hot Chinese tea while children will run around with brightly lit lanterns.

According to Vice Consul Li, the festival has a long history: “In ancient China, emperors followed the rite of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn.” Historical books of the Zhou Dynasty included the word ‘Mid-Autumn’ while later aristocrats and literary figures helped popularise the ceremony among common people. “They enjoyed the full, bright moon on that day, worshipped it and expressed their thoughts and feelings under it,” he said.

The Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixture under the reign of China’s Tang dynasty, which lasted between 618 to 907 AD, and grew to be a major Chinese festival during the Ming and Qing dynasty periods, from the year 1368 to 1911. “On January 1, 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival was designated as a national public holiday by the State Council of People's Republic of China,” Vice Consul Li pointed out.

For the Chinese people, the Mid-Autumn Festival signifies reunion and peace. “It is believed that the moon is at its largest and roundest during this festival. The full moon symbolises prosperity, happiness, and family unity,” he said. Families in China and its neighbouring countries mark it by various customs, such as moon gazing, eating mooncakes, viewing lanterns, admiring osmanthus flowers and drinking wine made from them. Mooncakes especially, which are round like the full moon, have come to symbolise the Mid-Autumn Festival.

On the occasion of the festival, which fell on Tuesday, Vice Consul Li invited friends in Pakistan to celebrate, enjoy delicious food and watch the moon to enjoy this wonderful moment together.