In ancient China, moon worship was tied closely to fertility and the harvest. So the full moon that happened closest to the fall equinox became the holiday now called Mid-Autumn Festival, also called Moon Festival by some. Originally a celebration of the harvest and a plea to the gods for rains to ensure a good harvest next year, the festival has become a more secular bit of autumn fun, with children and adults alike eating sweet mooncakes, lighting lanterns, and giving thanks for all they have. Really, they had us at ‘mooncake.’
Mooncake time
Today in History
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It’s Giving Tuesday
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Festivus
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Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
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Feature Attraction: 85 years at the drive-in
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Kangaroo family for National Hugging Day
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A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
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Saint Andrews Day
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Rosa Parks Day
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Manatees rebound
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Redwood National and State Parks, California
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The beach at Cala Luna, Sardinia, Italy
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Summer huts in winter
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Atop the roof of Africa
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A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
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Steyr River, Austria
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Plate ice along Lake Superior, Grand Marais, Minnesota
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Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
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National Hummingbird Day
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Siblings Day
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Looking down upon Edinburgh
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Arbor Day
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Cecil Brewer Staircase, London
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International Day for Monuments and Sites
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Tibetan New Year
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Jamaica celebrates its independence
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Twas a night just like tonight
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Meet the slowest flirt in the animal world
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International Day for Biological Diversity
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Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
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Does this chameleon look a little insecure?
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