“When the moon is full, mankind is one” — In China, the full moon has always represented the gatherings of friends and family. Thus, Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunions. On this night, families will go together to scenic spots and parks for moon appreciation parties, eating Autumn moon cakes and pomeloes in the cool night air and praying for a safe year. This festival has been made even more lively by the three legends of Chang-O Flees to the Moon, Wu Kang Chops Down the Cassia Tree, and the Jade Rabbit Grinds Medicine.

Since Festival Mooncake coincides with the fall harvest, the occasion is also celebrated in Taiwan by making offerings to the Earth God (Tu-ti Gong) in hope that he will make the next year’s harvest even more bountiful.

Source : http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/moon_e/moon.htm

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Zhongqiu Festival, or in Chinese, Zhongqiujie (中秋節), is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Chinese descendantsaround the world.

Mooncake is a main dish in this festival and when family and friends gather together to enjoy a moon cake.

It is a legal holiday in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. The Moon Festival is also a widely celebrated festival in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and Indonesia.

Please note that in Hong Kong, the official holiday date is the day after the festival, thus in 2010, the official holiday for mooncake festival in Hong Kong is on Thursday, 23 September 2010.

Source: http://sgholiday.com/2010/08/moon-cake-festival-2010/

As with every Chinese holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival has its own special food. People eat moon cakes at Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon cake is a kind of cookie with various  fillings and on the surface are printed different artistic patterns depicting the story of Chang Er flying to the moon.

People treated this kind of food as one of the sacrificial offerings to the moon in the old days. Today, it has become an indispensable food while appreciating the bright moon for every family. Moon cakes come in various flavors which change according to the region but common fillings are nuts, sugar, sesame, ham and egg yolk.

As the mooncake is round in shape, it symbolizes the reunion of a family, so it is easy to understand how the eating of moon cakes under the round moon can inspire the missing of distant relatives. Nowadays, people present the moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.

Source: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm