The Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is an ancient Asian tradition dating back over 1300 years. It is the most important Asian festival after New Year's Day. However, it remains little-known in France. Mid-Autumn, the eighth lunar month, is celebrated on the 15th day, when the moon is at its brightest for the year.
This is when the Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese join their families to go out and admire this famous full moon, chatting and savoring the famous moon cakes, these round cakes magnificently decorated, filled with a sweet filling: fruit, melon or lotus seeds, nuts, red bean paste...
There are many legends about the origin of the Moon Festival and its cakes. The most popular is that the Moon Festival commemorated the Chinese victory over the Mongols in 1368. On this occasion, the Chinese were said to have hidden papers in cakes indicating the day of the attack, and to have distributed them clandestinely to their compatriots. Since the Mongols don't eat sweet cakes, the ruse worked perfectly.
In the run-up to the Moon Festival, which this year takes place on October 6, 2025, Moon Cakes are proliferating in Asian stores and specialized patisseries. Tang Frères and Chinese patisseries on avenue d'Ivry and Choisy in the 13th arrondissement are just some of the places to try them.
The Moon Festival is once again taking place in the capital, with a rich program spread over several days that allows us to immerse ourselves in Asian traditions. This mid-autumn celebration, also known as the Full Moon Festival, has its origins in millennia-old Chinese culture, symbolizing family unity, the harvest and the memory of ancestors. October 6, 2025 marks the official date of this traditional festival, the moment when the moon appears in its most round and luminous form of the year according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but Parisian festivities await us from October 4 to 11 in various districts of the capital.
Festival de la Lune 2025 in Belleville: street food and entertainment this weekend
The Belleville district is getting ready to celebrate the thousand-year-old tradition of the Moon Festival this weekend, October 11 and 12, 2025. The program includes Asian street food, workshops, entertainment, spectacular lion dancing and colorful lanterns for a free weekend of festivities in the 20th and 11th arrondissements. [Read more]
Fête de la Lune Paris 13e 2025, the program of free events
The Moon Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, is also celebrated in Paris in the 13th arrondissement, the city's favorite Chinatown. From October 4 to 11, 2025, share in Asian culture through a wide range of events, including shows, workshops, screenings and an Asian street food market. [Read more]
Rice Market Paris 13e: the street food rendezvous of the Moon Festival
The Rice Market returns to Paris for its third edition this Saturday, October 4, 2025, on boulevard Auguste Blanqui in the 13th arrondissement. Over 50 Asian street food stalls, cultural events, concerts and shows make up this free festival celebrating the Moon Festival. [Read more]
Moon Festival at Jardin Yili: Chinese celebration in Yvelines
Jardin Yili in Saint-Rémy-l'Honoré celebrates the Moon Festival this Sunday, October 5, 2025, with storytelling, Taichi, tea ceremony and traditional cake tasting. Free entertainment included with garden admission. [Read more]
Happy Moon Festival Paris!
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Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival: origin and significance of this Asian festival
Every year, several Asian countries celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, better known as the Moon Festival, on the evening of the 15thᵉ day of the eighth lunar month. This year, the date is Monday, October 6, 2025. So, what's the story behind this festival and where does it come from? Let's find out. [Read more]
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Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival: origin and significance of this Asian festival
