Mooncake Festival 2025: History, Traditions, and Modern Celebration

October 6, 2025 | 06:38 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When it comes to big celebrations for Chinese people, the Mooncake Festival—also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival—is the second-most important after the Lunar New Year, trailing only the Lunar New Year. Falling around September or October, this major holiday takes many parts of the Asian region by storm, with dazzling lanterns and incredible spectacles. 

To welcome the festivity, let’s explore the history and traditions of this cultural celebration.

What is the Mooncake Festival? 

With a history dating back 3,000 years, the Mooncake Festival is eagerly anticipated every 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar. In 2025, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Monday, October 6, coinciding with the full moon at one of its brightest appearances of the year.

Long before it symbolized family reunions, the Mooncake Festival originated as a royal sacrificial ceremony held to pay tribute to the moon for the previous year's harvest and to wish for the “harvest-giving light” to return the following year. 

According to China Highlights, ancient people believed that worshipping the moon would bring a good harvest, as the lunar phases guided the farming schedule.

Is the Mooncake Festival a Public Holiday?

The Mooncake Festival is an official public holiday in mainland China, granting office workers and students a three-day break. While the public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau only begins the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, many events are actually held in the evening. 

Despite housing large Chinese populations, countries like Singapore and Malaysia do not count the Mooncake Festival as an official public holiday. Nevertheless, major Mid-Autumn celebrations and events are still widely attended across the globe.

How People Celebrate the Mooncake Festival 

Like many cultural celebrations, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a major occasion for family reunions centered around the act of worshipping the moon. Here are some ways to enjoy the day with loved ones: 

Sharing Mooncakes 

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival will not be complete without sharing mooncakes, or a palm-sized pastry with red bean or lotus seed paste filling. This sweet and round pastry symbolizes completeness and reunion, reflecting the value of family unity. As such, sharing mooncakes among family members is often the most significant ritual of the celebration. 

Family Dinner 

For people in mainland China, a three-day public holiday during the Mooncake Festival allows for family members from across the country to travel and reunite for a celebratory dinner.

Appreciating the Moon 

On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, many Chinese people spend time under the full moon, sharing the iconic mooncakes with family members. 

Carrying Lanterns 

During the Mooncake Festival, you will find many lanterns all around you. Traditionally, people usually carry them while admiring the moon, hang them in their houses for decoration, or even release sky lanterns.

Mooncake Festival in Singapore 2025 

The SG60 Mid-Autumn Festival at Gardens by the Bay celebrates Singapore’s rich cultural heritage and progress through the years, guided by the beloved Ang Ku Kueh Girl and her friends Curry Puff Boy, Sugee Cake Girl, and Roti Prata Boy. 

Visitors can explore the nation’s journey from a modest fishing village to a vibrant modern city, brought to life through stunning large-scale lantern displays. 

This year’s highlights include two special lanterns symbolizing international friendship: one from Korea marking 50 years of diplomatic ties, and another from Shanghai inspired by the Chinese legend Zhuangzi’s Dream of the Butterfly, celebrating 35 years of Singapore-China relations.

Editor's Choice: Singapore Braces for Wetter Start to October as Inter-Monsoon Sets In

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