Sun & Moon Festivals
Sun and moon festivals often celebrate the summer solstice and the autumn moon. The summer solstice occurs each year on June 21st or 22nd and marks the longest day of the year. The autumn harvest moon occurs near the fall equinox, which occurs September 22nd or 23rd. Sun festivals are popular all over the world. Moon festivals or mid-autumn festivals are more popular in Asian countries.
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Sun and Moon Festival Activities
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Most sun and moon festivals offer food, fun, and entertainment. Some also have extra activities that are geared toward families. Crafts, educational activities, face painting, and petting zoos are available at some festivals. New York City celebrates the summer solstice with a yoga fest in Times Square.
Moon festival activities can also be found in New York City. The Museum of Chinese in America celebrates the moon around the time of the autumn equinox. Arts and craft activities include lantern making, and making "moon cakes" out of clay. Stories and legends about the moon festival also take place at the museum.
Sun and Moon Festival Foods
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Sun festival foods vary from place to place. Many cities offer local cuisine along with beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages. Moon festival food is more traditional. Red foods are served for good luck. Food at a Chinese mid-autumn fest might include apples, lobster, salmon, and pomegranates. Moon cakes are the most traditional food at a mid-autumn festival. These cakes are considered a delicacy. They are usually filled with lotus seed paste and may include duck egg yolks.
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Sun and Moon Festival Parades
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Summer solstice parades celebrate the longest day of the year. Colorful costumes, floats, and balloons fill the streets of many cities. Moon festivals also have colorful parades that center around paper lanterns. In Hong Kong, there are lantern carnivals and exhibitions. Paper lanterns in a variety of shapes are a tradition at moon festivals. In some countries, children dress in costumes. They sing songs as they parade around with their multi-colored lanterns.
Sun and Moon Festival Entertainment
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Musical entertainment is very popular at sun festivals. Cities that host sun festivals will usually have a variety of musical entertainment throughout the day. Entertainers will take the stage for about an hour at a time. The music might include country, jazz, salsa, acoustic, and rock. The variety provides something for just about anyone.
Moon festivals feature storytelling, dancing, game playing, and singing. In Korea, the moon festival is known as Chusok. It is similar to Thanksgiving in America because is a time to give thanks and celebrate family, according to the Chiff website..
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