The Moon Festival brings many traditions about the moon and roundness. Families get together for large reunions -- representing roundness and completeness. People have outdoor picnics and feasts where they admire the moon, light candles and display lanterns. Round foods are also a favorite on this night -- especially mooncakes and fruit like grapes, Asian pears, oranges and pomello.

People praise the moon through poems and song, and children are told to look for the face of Chang-O -- the lovely goddess who lives in the moon.

Chang-O, The Moon Goddess
People say there was once a strong and cruel archer named Ho Yi who shot down nine suns in the heavens. One day, Hou Yi stole a magic "long-life-never-die" potion from a goddess. However his beautiful wife named Chang-O drank the potion in order to save people from her husband's terrible rule. After drinking the potion, she floated up to the moon. Although Hou Yi was cruel, he still loved his beautiful wife so much that he didn't shoot down the moon.

Lanterns
On Mid-Autumn eve, it is a tradition for children to parade through parks and gardens with beautifully colored lanterns. Long ago, lanterns were made of paper or silk glued to thin bamboo frames, and were lit with a single candle. They came in the shapes of goldfish, rabbits, butterflies, fruit and animals of the Chinese zodiac. Today, you can buy plastic, battery-operated lanterns in just about any shape or design, including Ultraman, Superman and Disney characters. Some even play electronic music.

Mooncakes
The mid-Autumn festival would not be complete without tasting moon cakes. Thousands of these cakes are sent as gifts to family and friends. Traditional mooncakes were round, baked pastries, about 3 inches across, filled with lotus seed paste and a salted egg yolk (representing the moon). Today, modern chefs have created many different types of fillings like winter melon paste, red bean paste, mung bean paste, mixed nuts, dried fruits, sesame, walnut, ham and other delicious ingredients -- both sweet and salty. The cakes normally cost between US$2.50 and $6.00 each. Most Asian markets or bakeries carry them during Mid Autumn Festival.

Moon Poetry
The moon is considered an object of great beauty and value. Many girls are named after the moon, as well as many beautiful scenic spots. Poets have been writing Mid-Autumn praises to the moon for centuries. A few favorites are listed below:
 

The Mid-Autumn Moon
by Li Qiao

A full moon hangs high in the chilly sky,
All say it's the same everywhere, round and bright.
But how can one be sure thousands of li away
Wind and perhaps rain may not be marring the night?

*li is a unit of measurement like miles or kilometers