Lanterns will be lit and mooncakes exchanged this weekend for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, a harvest celebration that falls on the 15<sup>th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival, which this year falls on 27 September, is celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and neighbouring countries. It is the second most important festival after the Spring Festival and honours the full moon as a symbol of peace, prosperity and family reunion.

One of the most important part of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival is to give mooncakes, traditional Chinese pastries, to your friends and family. Brightly coloured lanterns line streets or are set on water, giving rise to the nickname "lantern festival".