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:

Nov 14, 2019The perfect canvas for an ancient text
Dec 3, 2018Computer science on the page
Nov 20, 2019Atop the roof of Africa
Sep 23, 2018Ahh-tumn
Jul 25, 2022National Merry-Go-Round Day
Aug 6, 2020Space-age style by the sea
Jul 17, 2023Cloughoughter Castle, County Cavan, Ireland
Aug 9, 2019In the Supertree Grove
Jul 5, 2021How green is my valley
Jul 8, 2025Seceda, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy
Sep 13, 2022Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Jun 5, 2020By the light of the fireflies
May 18, 2019A ‘city’ within Valencia
Feb 26, 2020 The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
Aug 23, 2023Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
Dec 9, 2019Let s crack the code
Jan 18, 2019An opulent backdrop for a historic event
Feb 13, 2020Midwinter freeze
Feb 26, 2022Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Nov 23, 2018Let the holiday shopping commence
Jul 14, 2025Shark Awareness Day
Oct 21, 2024Cypress trees in George L. Smith State Park, Georgia
May 29, 2019A ‘circus of chaos’ for Stravinsky
Jan 15, 2018Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC
Sep 5, 2018Salmon migration in full swing
Oct 14, 2024Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day
Jul 2, 2025Spine-cheeked anemonefish in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
Apr 12, 2019A story of wind and ice
Nov 15, 2018‘Ocian in view! O! The joy.’
Oct 30, 2022Polar Bear Week