Mid-Autumn Festival / Moon Festival 2026

What this countdown tracks

The Mid-Autumn Festival 2026 — also known as the Mooncake Festival, Zhongqiu Jie, Tết Trung Thu, Chuseok-adjacent harvest moon and the Tsukimi season — falling on Friday 25 September 2026, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when the harvest moon is at its fullest and brightest of the year. Observed across Greater China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and the global Chinese and Vietnamese diaspora.

About this festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important traditional Chinese festivals, alongside the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year), the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival. Its origins are agricultural — a harvest thanksgiving fixed to the autumn equinox full moon — overlaid with the legend of Chang'e, the moon goddess who drank an elixir of immortality and ascended to live alone on the moon with her companion the Jade Rabbit. Chinese mooncakes and lantern processions evolved as offerings to Chang'e and to the moon, and the festival became a state observance during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) and a public holiday during the Song (960–1279 CE).

In Vietnam the festival is Tết Trung Thu and emphasises children — lantern parades, dragon and unicorn dances, and bánh trung thu mooncakes. Korean Chuseok, often falling on the same full-moon day, is a distinct three-day harvest festival centred on ancestor veneration (charye) and songpyeon rice cakes; while it is calendrically adjacent and linguistically related, Korean Chuseok is observed as its own holiday tradition rather than a regional variant of Mid-Autumn. Japanese Tsukimi continues the moon-viewing tradition with susuki grass and dango rice dumplings.

Observances

The signature foods are mooncakes (yuebing in Mandarin, bánh trung thu in Vietnamese) — round pastries with sweet bean, lotus seed paste, salted egg yolks (representing the moon), or modern flavours such as snow-skin, custard, ice cream and durian. Cantonese double-yolk mooncakes from Hong Kong and Guangdong are most associated with corporate and family gifting; Suzhou and Beijing styles are distinctly different. Lantern processions, riddles inscribed on lantern hangings, dragon and unicorn dances in Vietnam, and pomelo-and-tea family gatherings under the harvest moon are universal. Public holidays in mainland China are typically extended to a three-day weekend; Hong Kong and Macau observe the day after the 15th as the public holiday. In overseas Chinatowns, Mid-Autumn carnivals run in San Francisco, Sydney, London, Vancouver, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in the days before the 25th.

Past observances

• 2025 — Fell on Monday 6 October 2025; the latest possible Mid-Autumn date in the Gregorian calendar.
• 2024 — Fell on Tuesday 17 September 2024.
• 2023 — Fell on Friday 29 September 2023.
• 2022 — Fell on Saturday 10 September 2022.
• 2020 — Coincided with the Chinese National Day "double festival" eight-day Golden Week.

How to follow

The China Central Television (CCTV) Mid-Autumn Festival Gala broadcasts on the night of the 14th of the 8th lunar month and is one of the most-watched Chinese-language television events of the year, alongside the Spring Festival Gala. Hong Kong's Victoria Park lantern carnival, Macau's lantern festival, Singapore's Chinatown festivities, Vietnam's Hội An lantern walk, Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake gatherings, and Hanoi's Old Quarter parades are widely covered by international media. Cross-cultural English-language coverage runs through the South China Morning Post, Channel NewsAsia, Vietnam News, Bangkok Post, the Straits Times and BBC. Diaspora celebrations in major North American and Australian cities are documented by local Chinatown chambers of commerce.

Related countdowns

Pair Mid-Autumn 2026 with Chinese New Year 2027 — the year's most important East Asian festival. The wider East Asian calendar lives at the Chinese festival hub. Cross-tradition harvest festivals include Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 and the Hindu festival hub.

FAQ

When is the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2026? Friday 25 September 2026, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Where is it observed? Across mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the global Chinese and Vietnamese diaspora. Why does the Mid-Autumn Festival matter? It is one of the four most important traditional Chinese festivals — a harvest thanksgiving and family-reunion moment under the year's brightest full moon. Is it a public holiday? Yes — in mainland China (typically a three-day weekend), Hong Kong (the day after the 15th), Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore (paid leave) and parts of Malaysia.