Why does the Mid-Autumn Festival always have grapefruit?

Customs vary from place to place, but on the Mid-Autumn Festival tray, grapefruit is never absent, because of its interesting meanings.

The Mid-Autumn Festival tray cannot lack the five-fruit tray with many kinds of fresh fruits, full of color and flavor. Depending on each family and each region, the arrangement and selection of fruits to display on the tray will be different. However, the five-fruit tray is never without grapefruit.

In addition to the reason that Mid-Autumn Festival is also the season to harvest the freshest grapefruits of the year, the offering of grapefruit on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month also has many long-standing traditional meanings. Since ancient times, people have believed that displaying grapefruit on this day will bring good luck, as a blessing to the homeowner. The grapefruit is round, symbolizing abundance, gathering, and full reunion of the whole family.

Mid-Autumn Festival is always considered a family reunion festival in many Asian countries. This is considered a holiday when children working far away will return to gather with their families, grandparents and parents, and meet their siblings and relatives. According to Epochtimes, in Chinese, the word "pomelo" (du tu) is homophonous with the word "wandering", implying the hope that people who are wandering around can return home after working days in foreign lands. In addition, the word "pomelo" (you) in Chinese is also read similarly to the word meaning to bestow blessings, bringing luck and peace to the family.

If there is a couple in the house who is looking forward to having a child, then offering grapefruit on the Mid-Autumn Festival is even more meaningful. Because in the local language, the word "grapefruit" (youzi) is also read in a similar way to the word "having a child" (huu tu), and the plump grapefruit also symbolizes a pregnant mother. Therefore, eating and offering grapefruit on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month also carries the wish to soon give birth to a son.

In Vietnam, people not only display ripe grapefruit on the fruit tray but also create pomelo dog figurines for children on the night of the feast. This custom originates from the story of "Uncle Cuoi watching the moon" of the ancient Vietnamese.

In that story, Cuội’s dog volunteered to donate its intestines to replace his dead wife. As a result, his wife was resurrected and returned from the dead. In gratitude for his loyal and kind actions, Cuội molded a set of intestines out of clay to replace them and placed it in his stomach. Unexpectedly, the dog also came back to life. Since then, on the night of the full moon feast, people often put a dog made from grapefruit on the offering tray to honor good deeds.

According to the Star