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, symbolising 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 Stock Photo

palette

Today in History

Swinging over Munich
Sep. 17, 2023Cuban tody, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Cuba
Sep. 17, 2025A young bull moose, Denali National Park, Alaska, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov. 6, 2025Celebrating Yi Peng
Blue as far as the eye can see
Oct. 17, 2023Vieste, Apulia, Italy
Sep. 18, 2024Gujō Hachiman Castle, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Canoeing in solitude
Jul. 29, 2024International Tiger Day
How’s the air up there?
Jul. 25, 2024Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA
Sep. 20, 2023Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
Dec. 31, 2024New Years Eve in Ottawa
Mar. 27, 2024World Theatre Day
Mar. 19, 2025A black heron canopy hunting in Botswana
We’ve identified these ‘flying objects’
A mountaintop cultural wonder
Bright blue lakes and rugged mountains
Where we go to play
Mar. 3, 2026World Wildlife Day
Sep. 9, 2024Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
Sep. 30, 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia
Oct. 21, 2025Happy Diwali!
Where fire and water meet
Jul. 31, 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
Napping near the North Pole
A beacon in the golden light
Sway with the Amazonian canopy
Trusty water-shifters
Celebrating Canada and Englands common bond
Remembering D-Day
Incan ingenuity
Sep. 1, 2023Turkey Tail Mushroom