Harvest Moon (moon viewing;月見,Tsukimi) in Japan

This year's Tukimi (Moon Viewing) in Japan happens to fall into 19th of this month. 

And 19th is my birthday as well!!! 
I am so excited with this magical coincidence p;)
I know it is too early to post this topic; (I wish to use tsukimi header longer till 19th.)

     Offerings for the Harvest Moon: Tsukimi dango (left),

susuki grass (middle) and chestnuts (right)

I found really good page explaining about this Japanese tradition. Tukimi (moon viewing or harvest moon) refers to the Japanese tradition holding the parties to view the harvest moon.  I'm not sure but Tsukimi must be close to the Halloween in western culture in the sense of cerebrating the harvest. 

I don't think we cerebrate nowadays much any longer. But I HAVE lovely memory when little that my mother told me there lives a rabbit in the moon making rice-cake pounding a mortar with pestle.  We enjoyed eating "bean cake, おはぎ/ohagi　(another dango type of sweet)" she made for us on this day.  And I was happy to read about Jade Rabbit  story I've never known in the link page above.

Japanese Tukimi (moon-viewing)

Tukimi (moon-viewing)

     Offerings for the September 13 Moon: Tsukimi dango (left),

susuki grass (middle) and chestnuts (right)

Tukimi←link means moon-viewing in Japanese. The celebration of the full moon. Tsukimi refers to the Japanese tradition of holding parties to view the harvest moon. So, I don't know if I am right or not but maybe we can say this tradition of ours is close to the Halloween in Western culture.

I didn't know the traditional connection bettween moon and rabit ←link  I just knew that it is said that the blackish parts in the moon looks like the rabbit pounding in amortar and pestle.

Anyways, we have Oriental Zodiac symbols out of twelve animals, and this year marks the rabit's year in the Chinese astrological calendar. Well, I hoped that this year was going to be a better year by leaps and bounds, though. (like rabits do)   (posted in Etymology page)