The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important festival in some Asian countries.Becau

Without question, one of the most important festivals in some Asian countries is the Mid -Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. As the name suggests, this festival is held in the middle of autumn every year. Because the precise date of the Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, it is held on a different date every year, but it is always on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. This date usually falls sometime in late August or September. There are many legends about the origins of this festival. One ancient Chinese myth tells of a great archer, Hou Yi, and his wife Chang’e. According to the legend, then there were ten suns in the sky, and the world was in danger of dying. Hou Yi used his bow to shoot down nine of the suns, and saved the earth. As a reward, the Goddess of the Western Heaven gave Hou Yi the elixir of immortality. However, the curious Chang’e drank it accidentally. She found herself becoming lighter and lighter until eventually she reached the moon, where she lives in her palace to this day. In China as well as in some other Asian countries, this festival is marked by family reunions, gazing at the full moon, and by friends and family exchanging moon cakes. Moon cakes are an important part of the festival, and they are passed out to family members, colleagues and friends. The Mid - Autumn Festival in Vietnam is seen as a children’s festival, but it is also enjoyed by adults. Mooncakes are exchanged and enjoyed by everyone. Paper lanterns are also an important part of the celebration in Vietnam. On the night of the festival, children put candles into their lanterns, and they all take their lanterns out onto the streets where the colourful parade of glowing shapes lights up the night under the full moon.