Tsukimi or Otsukimi (お月見), meaning, "moon-viewing", are Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, known as Jūgoya ; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month, known as Jūsan'ya . These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.
Offerings for the September 13 Moon: Tsukimi dango (left), susuki grass (middle) and chestnuts (right)
Tsukimi udon, from Kyoto
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of autumn.
Festival decorations in Beijing
Chang'e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality
Houyi helplessly looking at his wife Chang'e flying off to the Moon after she drank the elixir.
Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns in Chinatown, Singapore