2017 Chinese Moon Festival, Stories and Moon Cake

Chinese Moon Festival on October 4, 2017

The Chinese Moon Festival is Chinese the second favorite festival next to Chinese New Year. The Moon Festival is called the Mid-autumn Festival in China. The festival date must be in the middle of autumn. Chinese use Chinese lunar calendar. The first day of a lunar month is the new moon day. The middle of the lunar month is close to the full moon day. Since the moon is near full, therefore there are some legendary stories attaching on the Chinese Moon Festival.

China was an agriculture country. People use Farmer's Calendar for their farming activities. The autumn season are Monkey, Chicken and Dog months in the Chinese Farmer's Calendar, which is a solar calendar. The Monkey Month begins around August 8 every year. The Mid-autumn month should be the Chicken Month, which begins around September 8 every year. Therefore, the Chinese Moon Festival is usually in the September. The Mid-autumn Festival date is from the Chinese lunar calendar. If there is a leap lunar month before September, then the date of Moon Festival might push down to early October.

When is the 2017 Chinese Moon Festival?

The date of Chinese Moon Festival (a.k.a. Mid-autumn Festival) is on the 15th moon day of 8th Chinese lunar month (Chicken month). The new moon day is the first day of a Chinese Lunar Month. Since the first day of 8th lunar month is 09-20-2017, the Moon Festival is on 10-04-2017 in China time zone. The Chinese Moon Festival is on 10-03-2017 in USA Pacific time zones, since the new moon day is on 09-19-2017.

Time Zone  New Moon Date & Time  15th moon day   Full Moon Date & Time
China 09-20-2017 13:30 p.m. 10-04-2017 10-06-2017 02:40 a.m.
EST (USA) 09-20-2017 00:30 a.m. 10-04-2017 10-05-2017 13:40 p.m.
PST (USA) 09-19-2017 21:30 p.m. 10-03-2017 10-05-2017 10:40 a.m.

Time is the standard time, not the day-light saving time.

Chinese Moon Festival day is not always on the full moon day. Actually, there is more chance that the full moon date falls on the 16th lunar day. The moon of 16th lunar usually is bigger and fuller than the one on 15rh lunar day.

2017, Chinese Moon Festival day is on 15th lunar day, which is October 4, 2017 in China time zone. The full moon day is on the 17th lunar day, which is October 6, 2017. It's very usual. Since the full moon time is in the early morning of 17th lunar day, therefore, the night of 16th lunar day should have a fuller moon than the Chinese Moon Festival night. You probably cannot tell the naked eyes.

The full moon time is on the night of Chinese Moon Festival in USA time zones. It will be a romantic night for people in love.

The Moon Festival is a holiday in China. It's an occasion for family reunion. Chinese families like to get together to eat the moon cakes and watch the moon at the Moon Festival night. For the people are out of town or for Chinese are from China stay in USA, they miss their family or the lover at home and share the same moon at the night of the Moon Festival before the Internet gets popular.

The detail about the moon phase times is at Moon Phase Calendar.

Why does the Chinese eat moon cakes during Mid-Fall Festival?

Moon cake is a Chinese bakery product. Chinese exchange moon cakes as gift during the Moon Festival season. Many business Companies gift their valuable customers with boxes of moon cakes. Families will buy their favorite moon cakes for themselves. The Moon Festival Day is a national holiday in China and Taiwan. Every Chinese won't miss moon cake during the holiday. That means more than 1.3 billion moon cakes will be eaten during the week of Moon Festival each year.

Chinese Moon Cakes

Is there a Rabbit in the Moon?

Click here to read the Legendary Stories of the Moon Festival and Moon Cake.

The Chinese Mid-Fall Moon Festival Day for the coming years

China Time Zone  US PST Time Zone  US EST Time Zone
September 15, 2016
October 4, 2017
September 24, 2018
September 15, 2016
October 3, 2017
September 23, 2018
September 15, 2016
October 4, 2017
September 23, 2018

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