Mid-Autumn Festival
01.10.2018 / 11:54 | Aktualizováno: 01.10.2018 / 12:51
On September 24, thousands of lanterns flew up to the sky in the small city of Pingxi. We could not have missed it!
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also called as The Moon Festival, is the second most important festivity after the Lunar New Year. It is being held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar in most Asian countries. The place to go on Taiwan on this special eve is Pingxi in New Taipei City – a small historical town that has hosted the Sky Lantern Festival for 20 years already. People from all over Taiwan gather there to release their lanterns after having written their wishes all over them.
The full moon symbolizes unity. Its round shape is seen in mooncakes – beautifully decorated delicacies filled with lotus seed or sweet bean paste. Mooncakes are divided among all family members, as the Mid-Autumn Festival is above all the celebration of family. Families gather to enjoy the time spent together – nowadays not only by eating mooncakes and the freshly ripened pomelos, but also by barbequing, which became a synonym for Moon Festival in Taiwan, as one can tell by the strong smell all around Taipei during the festival.