52nd Chinatown August Moon Festival

The August Moon Festival, which traces its origins back to 771 BCE, historically celebrated the annual harvest of rice and wheat on a night of the full moon.  Today, the August Moon Festival in Chinese culture is the equivalent of American Thanksgiving.  The fundamental concepts the August Moon Festival celebrates are the gathering of friends and family, thanksgiving, and prayers for the future.  Mooncakes, a round Chinese dessert typically filled with lotus bean paste and a symbol of familial unity, are shared between family and friends as part of the celebration.