Asian Nations celebrate the Moon Sept 30

The Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival, is held on the 15th Day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which means that this 2012 it will fall on September 30th. 

The popular lunar festival, celebrated by the Chinese as well as the Vietnamese, represents the end of the fall harvest. Though popularized during the early Tang Dynasty, the Moon Festival first appeared in a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou Dynasty, called the Rites of Zhou. 

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In 2008 it became a public holiday in China and since has become on in in Taiwan as well. Many customs and traditions come with celebration, such as eating mooncakes, floating sky lanterns, carrying brightly lit lanterns, and burning incense.

Other traditions include matchmaking, where dances are held for young men and women in hopes of finding a partner, and Fire Dragon Dances. The traditional icon for the festival is the Moon rabbit. 

Due to the rich history and culture imbedded within the festival, it is no surprise that the Moon Festival is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese. 

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It is the perfect time for family reunions, a time when families can gather together to watch the full moon, sing moon poems, or eat moon cakes. 

It can also be a romantic time, couples can spend a romantic evening together drinking wine and eating moon cake while sitting under the full moon.