Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, is celebrated in various Asian countries such as Taiwan, China, Koran, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam. It falls on 15 of the eighth lunar month, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is known more than 3,000 years to the moon worship in the Shang dynasty in China.

By the day of Mid Autumn Festival, the moon is in the full circle, a symbol of harmony and unity; so the festival also known as Reunion Festival. Family, relatives, friends get together for outdoor reunions to watch the moon. People celebrate with many customs, among them:

MOONCAKES
Sharing mooncakes is one of the traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and unity. Therefore, the sharing of round mooncakes among family members and friends signify the unity of families and friends.

POMELO
The pomelo is a beloved fruit of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese believe that by placing pomelo peels on their heads, the moon goddess Chang'e will see them and respond to their prayers when she looks down from the moon.

LANTERNS
A notable part of celebrating the holiday is to write riddles on lanterns and have other people try to guess the answers. This is one of the activities during the "moon-viewing" parties.

In South Korea, it is named "Thanksgiving Day" as well. Rather than eating mooncakes, they celebrate the festival with a crescent-shaped rice cake that is steamed upon pine needles.

If you would like to invite your customers to celebrate this vibrant and festive occasion, there are some Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in Vancouver and Richmond, such as Aberdeen Centre and The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Mark the festivities with a visit to the event as lantern displays, cultural performances and activities transform the grounds into an unique celebration for everyone.

Today, Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two major events in Asian cultures (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year). It is a tradition to present gifts to relatives and friends on this festival. This provides a great promotion opportunity for all types of businesses, even though you don't sell mooncakes! Tie in your cross-promotion, additional incentive, or special services with current occasion is the most effective tactic to attract more customers with less effort. It will not only generate sales from your current customers, but also offer you a chance to increase market share. For example, The Urban Tea Merchant is currently running the Moon Festival Afternoon Tea service to their afternoon tea menu in September. The combination of western tea and Asian pastry has created another festive campaign in this diverse market.

So~ Do you feel like testing a piece of mooncakes now?

September 12, 2013
Posted By Amber Liu