Along with the Dragon Boat Festival and the Lunar New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a national holiday in both Taiwan and China. It originated during the Sung dynasty, which lasted from the 10th to the 13th century. The festival always falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar.
Traditionally, most Taiwanese people celebrate the festival with their families. These gatherings often include a sumptuous meal. Gazing at the full moon after dinner is also a tradition on this holiday, since the moon is closer and brighter on this day than it is on any other day in the year.
In Taiwan, two popular festival foods are moon cakes and pomelos. The round moon cakes are mostly stuffed with red bean paste, lotus seed paste and egg yolks, though other flavors of moon cake -- such as green tea, pineapple paste and even Chinese ham -- are sold as well.
Over the past few years, barbecuing has been quite popular in Taiwan during the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) says that barbecuing could pose a health hazard to humans because the smoke from burning charcoal emits carcinogens. And it pollutes the air too. The EPA says, though, that the government will not impose a ban on barbecuing.