Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations Start in Pakistan,

Islamabad (Bilal Javaid): It is much pleasure for me to describe and share with the world for the sake of understanding, developing harmony, peace, progress, bilateral, and friendly relations among the nations of the world, and therefore contributing to a festivity report to better knowledge about the exotic cultural entity of the People’s Republic of China to celebrate the magic of the Mid-Autumn Festival with Mooncakes.

Mid-Autumn is one of the most celebrated holidays in China, a time for families to get together under the full moon and light up lanterns to symbolically illuminate the path to success for the rest of the year. Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar when the moon is at its fullest. This year, the festival will start on September 17, 2024.

In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn festival celebration always symbolizes the reunion of families and friends, a delicious feast including moon cakes served at round shaped tables admiring the full moon. The full moon is the hallmark tradition of this festival because a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion.

The most popular custom around the Mid-Autumn festival is eating moon cakes. Mooncakes come in many shapes and sizes, with different fillings such as nuts, fruit, bean paste, coffee, chocolate, and flowers. Many of the cakes are round, symbolizing the family reunion that often happens during this festival. Eating round moon cakes under a round moon makes the locals long for their family and friends. Moon cakes are also given as gifts during the holiday, as families reunite.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 8th lunar month each year and goes by a few other names. In the local language, the festival is known as 中秋节 (zhong qiu jie), which translates into the Middle Autumn Festival, but many, especially foreigners, know it as the Mooncakes festival, named after the moon cakes that the locals eat this time of year. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a cultural and religious holiday signifying the end of the autumn harvest. It is the most recognized Chinese festival among the Dragon Boat Festival, the Chinese Valentine’s Day Festival, and the Chinese Spring Festival.

In China, the moon has followed since ancient times, and many important decisions have been made based on the moon’s movements across the sky. All major holidays are scheduled according to the lunar calendar, except National Day, which falls on October 1 each year. It does not only determine the holidays, as wedding dates are also often set according to the lunar calendar, and many Chinese people still celebrate their birthdays according to the lunar calendar, too.

The farmers have a close association with the moon, and the moon indicates how and when the seasons will change. They have been thanking the moon with offerings since the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted between 1046 and 256 BC.

Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival was one of the few occasions when markets stayed up at night, making this eve a time for socializing. In the past, as people crafted and lit paper lanterns, scholars dreamed of achieving fame while the young hoped for love.

Be noted that the China Cultural Center in Pakistan, in collaboration with the Culture Office of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Pakistan, launched a series of online activities to celebrate the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival: A moon moment to remember in Pakistan and for people around the globe.

The Mid-Autumn Day in poetry, video series, and other colorful events are part of the online Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in Pakistan, organized by the China Cultural Center in Pakistan.

Activities such as theme videos, performances, and other content showcasing the Chinese celebration for this Mid-Autumn Festival will be displayed and published on the Cultural Counsellor and Director China Cultural Centre in Pakistan, H.E. Zhang Heqing Twitter, Cultural Center Official WeChat Channel, as well as the Official Facebook Page of China Cultural Centre in Pakistan.

Please follow these online accounts and the links below to stay updated. It is just a click away on WeChat Channels and China Cultural Center in Pakistan, https://twitter.com/zhang_heqing and https://www.facebook.com/cccenterinpak.

On this auspicious occasion of a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, I, Bilal Javaid, Bureau Chief Pakistan, wish the round moon brings to all Chinese around the globe and all you hold dear good health, progress, success, peace, prosperity, and happiness in life and promotion of friendship, love, and humanity in the world.