A lunar lantern celebration Oct 1, 2020

A lunar lantern celebration

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is a celebration of the autumn harvest observed by the Chinese and other Asian peoples. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the full moon closest to the fall equinox. Originally a plea to the gods for rains to ensure a good harvest next year, Mid-Autumn Festival has become a more secular bit of autumn fun, with children and adults gathering to give thanks, eat sweet mooncakes, and light lanterns like the hand-painted ones we"re looking at here from a previous celebration in Singapore. This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincidentally lands on another holiday, China"s National Day.

© Khin/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Oct 1, 2018It’s NASA’s 60th birthday
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Oct 1, 2021What s better than a smile?
Oct 1, 2022Yosemite National Park turns 132
Oct 1, 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park anniversary
Oct 1, 2025Clark Range, Yosemite National Park, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 13, 2024Royal Alcázar of Seville, Spain
Apr 12, 2022International Day of Human Space Flight
May 18, 2024International Museum Day
Aug 25, 2022National Park Service Founders Day
Oct 11, 2019Art in the high desert
Oct 23, 2025International Day of the Snow Leopard
Dec 10, 2022Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
May 26, 2023Wat Sri Sawai in Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand
Nov 23, 2021Fibonacci Day
Jun 27, 2018In search of roadside attractions on ‘America’s Highway’
Jul 18, 2019A learning garden
Feb 18, 2019Presidents Day in America’s front yard
Sep 20, 2021Birds of a feather flocking together
Jun 27, 2019The roots of invention
Sep 26, 2025Least chipmunk, Kootenai National Forest, Montana
Jul 20, 2020Earthrise on Moon Day
Jul 3, 2023The dog days of summer
Aug 23, 2019Harvest time in the Palouse
Nov 19, 2025Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest, Hungary
May 24, 2024European Day of Parks
Nov 24, 2018The tortoise and the finch
Aug 3, 2023Zelenci Nature Reserve, Slovenia
Apr 30, 2021The Spirit of Harlem by Louis Delsarte
Oct 7, 2020The circular castle of Cornwall
Mar 13, 2019A look at Uranus, seventh planet from the sun
Jan 30, 2024Aýna, Albacete, Spain
Dec 8, 2021Petrified Forest National Park
May 16, 2018National Love a Tree Day
Dec 15, 2020A bridge that rocks
Jun 1, 2018In Apia Harbor for Samoan Independence Day