China
This is the literal Mandarin name for the holiday, meaning "Mid-Autumn Festival."
What is Zhōngqiū Jié?
In Vietnamese, the festival is called this, which literally translates to "Mid-Autumn Festival."
What is Tết Trung Thu?
Japan's autumn moon-viewing tradition, held around the same time of year, is called this.
What is Tsukimi (Otsukimi)?
Korea's major harvest festival, held on the same lunar date as Mid-Autumn Festival, is called this.
What is Chuseok?
In English, the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox has this special name.
What is the Harvest Moon?
This pastry, filled with lotus seed paste and often a salted egg yolk, is China's most iconic Mid-Autumn food.
What is a mooncake?
Unlike in China, this holiday in Vietnam is celebrated primarily as a festival for this group of people.
What are children?
This sweet, chewy rice dumpling, traditionally stacked in a pyramid, is offered to the moon during Tsukimi.
What is (tsukimi) dango?
Korean families traditionally travel to their hometowns to honour their ancestors with this offering.
What is food?
The festival takes place near this astronomical event, which marks the change of seasons and falls around September 22-23
What is the autumnal equinox?
This legendary woman flew to the moon after swallowing an elixir of immortality.
Who is Chang'e?
Vietnamese children traditionally carry this brightly colored, star-shaped item, lit from within by a candle, through the streets at night.
What is a star lantern (đèn ông sao)?
This tall, feathery autumn grass is displayed during Tsukimi, believed to ward off evil spirits and invite a good harvest.
What is pampas grass (susuki)?
This crescent-shaped, chewy rice cake filled with sesame, chestnut, or sweet bean paste is Korea's version of the mooncake.
What is songpyeon?
This term describes a full moon that looks unusually large and bright because the moon is near its closest point to Earth.
What is a supermoon?
In 2008, the Chinese government restored Mid-Autumn Festival to this status, giving workers an official day off.
What is a public holiday?
This traditional dance, performed by troupes to drums in the streets, is a highlight of Trung Thu celebrations.
What is the lion (unicorn) dance, múa lân?
Japanese folklore says this animal lives on the moon, pounding mochi with a mallet.
What is a rabbit (usagi)?
In the days before Chuseok, families visit ancestral gravesites to do this activity.
What is clearing grass and weeds (beolcho)?
The Mid-Autumn Festival's date shifts every year on the Western calendar because it's set by this type of calendar, based on moon phases.
What is a lunar (or lunisolar) calendar?
This Mandarin word, central to the festival's meaning, translates to "reunion" and describes families gathering to share mooncakes under the full moon.
What is tuányuán (团圆)?
This mythological figure, a woodcutter swept up to the moon while trying to save a magical banyan tree, is said to be visible in its shadows.
Who is Chú Cuội (Uncle Cuoi)?
This McDonald's Japan seasonal burger, topped with a fried egg meant to resemble the full moon, is named after the moon-viewing tradition.
What is the Tsukimi Burger?
Chuseok's origins trace back to this type craft month-long competition contest between two teams of women in the Silla kingdom, judged by the king's daughter.
What is weaving (gabae)?
The sun, Earth, and moon are roughly in this straight-line alignment during a full moon, which is why the moon appears fully lit.
What is syzygy (opposition)?