Moon Festival

noun

variants or moon festival

plural Moon Festivals or moon festivals

: an autumn harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture and various other East and Southeast Asian cultures : mid-autumn festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival (this year on Sept. 10), would see my family gather in my grandparents' San Leandro backyard to gaze at the moon.

—Janelle Bitker

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the moon festival or mooncake festival, is celebrated on the eighth month of the Lunar calendar. The holiday is also called Tsukimi in Japanese, Tet Trung Thu in Vietnamese, Chuseok in Korean and by other names across East and Southeast Asian countries.

—Em Chan

Examples of Moon Festival in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This image of the full Harvest Supermoon was captured by photographer Gong Xianming during the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival in the city of Jinhua, China. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025

Cincinnati Moon Festival At Cincinnati Moon Festival, one of the region's largest celebrations of Asian cultures, visitors can enjoy a free tea tasting experience and learn about Chinese, Indian and Japanese tea cultures. —Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Sep. 2025

From China’s Moon Festival to European traditions, it has long been observed as a time of gratitude and release. —Michaela Trimble, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2025

Located in the Vietnamese cultural hub of Westminster, the Asian Garden boasts several events year-round, including the annual Tet / Lunar New Year to Mid-Autumn / Moon Festival, the Flower Festival and the Little Saigon Night Market. —Charlie Vargas, Oc Register, 30 July 2025

Cincinnati Moon Festival This family-friendly festival celebrates Greater Cincinnati's Asian community, traditions and the arrival of the autumn harvest moon. —Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 25 Sep. 2024

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, celebrated by Chinese around the world on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year (September 17 this year), mooncakes are eaten in gluttonous quantities. —Michelle Tchea, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024

The Chinese Harvest Moon Festival celebrates bountiful harvests and takes place on the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox. —Rebecca Norris, Country Living, 29 Aug. 2023

Watch Chinese opera and a lion dance performance and roam the streets to browse the vendors’ tables spread with traditional Moon Festival gifts and food. —BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined above