Mid-Autumn Festival

Highlights of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Now in its 29th year, the Mid-Autumn Festival attracts thousands of individuals and families to Philadelphia's Chinatown to reconnect and give thanks under the Harvest Moon. The event is a culmination of the efforts of hundreds: youth volunteers running activities, restaurants donating food, artists performing, and businesses large and small supporting the cause.

The Festival is a family-friendly event centering the Asian community—one of Philadelphia's fastest-growing demographic. Activities include lion dances, martial arts displays, Chinese opera, carnival games, arts & crafts, and the mooncake eating contest.

This year's Festival is significant: Chinatown in Philadelphia was designated in 2023 as one of the Most Endangered Historic Places. The displacement and disruption that threaten historic neighborhoods across the U.S. are threatening our very own Chinatown's existence. But, united in collective action, we can protect our cultural heritage and invest in future generations.

Mid-Autumn Festival History

In ancient China, the moon was seen as a source of life because plants were seen glowing under the moonlight, and as such the moon became connected in many facets of Chinese culture. This led to familial traditions such as moon-gazing and having feasts in response to the end of the harvest season. According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong explored the Moon-Palace, and afterwards started to host formal celebrations. After some time, the Mid-Autumn Festival became associated with other traditions and objects such as lanterns and mooncakes. The holiday has become very popular throughout Asia and is a favorite tradition for many.

AAU’s Mid-Autumn Festival started as a way for homesick Chinese Americans in Philadelphia to partake in celebrating a holiday when they could not travel back to China. It is important that the tradition continues so that Asian Americans can place some priority into cultural traditions that are at risk of fading away. This homegrown festival was initiated in 1996 by AAU middle school students and is a large annual event in Chinatown, actively involving more than 300 high school volunteers and reaching 7,500 festival-goers who gather under the full moon to celebrate. Closing down 10th Street, community members reclaim old traditions and establish new ones in an expression of community pride and collective responsibility. Youth give a day of service, restaurants donate food, artists offer their talents, businesses and organizations chip in money – hundreds of people work together to make the festival our own. The core leadership of this festival is young adults and youth who have come up through the festival and grown into positions of increased responsibility. This core of young people and young adults meet for months leading up to the festival day and are coordinators or co-coordinators of all aspects of the festival (stage, volunteer coordination, carnival, fundraising, arts activities, media, etc).