The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest celebration held in China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which usually lands in October. It is one of the most important holidays in many countries.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest celebration held in China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which usually lands in October. It is one of the most important holidays in many countries.
Socialization is a key part of the festival, which is often a reunion among friends and family. During the decorating, groups of people played a party game called Mafia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game) ).
On Friday, September 25 at 7pm, the Asian Community Coalition (ACC) held a Mid-Autumn Festival in the Forum and Red Square.
Junior Sarah McRoberts painted her lantern to include some of her interests: a treble clef in her favorite color and a dreamcast swirl to represent an old video game console. On a whim, she included Earth and Mars.
Casey Kelahan, senior, painted cherry blossoms on hers.
“I have an association between certain Asian cultures and cherry blossoms,” she says.
She attributes the connection to the cherry blossom festival in Washington, DC, which she grew up near. She also thought it would look pretty.
Snacks available during the lantern decorating were fried bananas and cookies.
Although flowers and other aspects of nature were common among the lantern decorations, some guests took a slightly different approach, including this science pun (“Sodium fine” instead of “So damn fine.”
One Mid-Autumn Festival tradition is the decorating of and carrying of brightly lit lanterns. The event started in the Forum, where ACC supplied lanterns, paint, and other decorations for attendees to decorate their own lantern to carry.
ACC members performed a skit before leading the event’s attendees outside. It told the Vietnamese story of Chu Cuoi, the Moon Man, who is ultimately taken up to the moon by a magical tree whose healing powers Chu Cuoi had been using to help his village. The entirety of the story can be found here (http://en.vietnam.com/culture/art/fairy-tales/chu-cuoi-or-the-man-in-the-moon.html).
After the skit, the gathering was moved to Red Square, where jasmine tea was waiting, since part of the Mid-Autumn Festival is being able to see the moon.
Moon cakes were available on another table for guests to enjoy.
Guests were left to mingle, snack, and admire their work as well as the works of others for as long as they pleased.
Moon cakes are one of the most popular aspects of the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are pastries with a sweet stuffing that are shared among family and friends during Mid-Autumn celebrations. The pastries are round to represent the full moon, which is the focus of the festival.
Each guest was given a candle to put in their lantern.
