Moon bathes festival in its glow

Not just here

While Chinese people's celebrations might be the most famous, rituals to mark mid-autumn are held in many other countries.

According to Xiao, the native people of Canada burn incense when the moon is full. On Zanzibar Island off Africa's east coast, they have an annual full moon festival during which villagers sit around watching the orb and dance throughout the night.

Mid-autumn is also celebrated in South Korea and Japan, as well as in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The festival is called Chuseok in South Korea, and is one of the country's biggest holidays. On Chuseok Day, a family's eldest son honors deceased ancestors, while young girls wear colorful traditional clothes and play games.

To celebrate a good harvest, they visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast and rice wine. Muffins in the shape of half moons made from rice flour with jujube paste filling are the traditional holiday food.

In Japan, the festival is called Tsukimi or Otsukimi, which literally means "moon-viewing". The Tsukimi custom originated from China after Mid-Autumn Festival was introduced to Japan 1,000 years ago.

In Vietnam, the festival is for children. Adults tell children stories and the youngsters carry lanterns and wander and play under the moon.