Which Chinese harvest festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar?

The Chinese harvest festival held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The festival is associated with the autumn harvest, family reunions, moon viewing, and round mooncakes. Its date follows the traditional lunisolar calendar, so it usually falls in September or October in the Gregorian calendar.

The full moon is central to the celebration because it symbolizes completeness and reunion. A famous legend connects the festival with Chang'e, who is said to have flown to the Moon after drinking an elixir of immortality. The story is cultural mythology rather than a historical explanation of the festival’s origin.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated across China and in Chinese communities worldwide. It is sometimes confused with the separate Lantern Festival, which occurs on the 15th day of the first lunar month and concludes the Lunar New Year period.