Kennesaw State’s Department of World Languages and Cultures, Chinese Language and Culture Club and Asian Studies Association hosted a celebration of the traditional Chinese holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The clubs invited students to learn about the popular Chinese holiday over mooncakes and other traditional snacks while watching Chinese cultural performances, playing games and winning prizes.
The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It has been celebrated by the Chinese since the 10th century B.C.E., according to National Today, dating back over 3,000 years.
Throughout East and Southeast Asia, mooncakes are a cultural treat that remain a big part of the festival. Many gather and sit to admire the moon while having tea and cutting into a mooncake, according to USA Today.
Although mooncakes are a big part of the cultural experience, the festival celebrates three fundamental concepts that are closely connected. According to Pima County Library, those concepts include gathering with family and friends, thanksgiving to give thanks for the harvest and praying for conceptual or material satisfactions.
A few fun ways to celebrate this popular Chinese holiday are by lighting a paper lantern and releasing it into the night sky, having a barbecue meal and gathering to tell stories under the moonlight.
According to National Today, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which often falls between the middle of September and early October. This year it fell on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
According to Time and Date, the Moon has eight phases in a lunar month. A lunar month is when the Moon passes through all the moon phases measuring from one New Moon to the next New Moon: four primary and four intermediate phases.
A new moon occurs when the Sun and Moon are aligned with the Sun and Earth on opposite sides of the Moon.
According to USA Today, mooncakes are given as gifts before and during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Over the years the mooncake has advanced in variety and flavor selection.
The Mooncake Festival is as popular as Chinese New Year, one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture.
The overall importance of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to gather and celebrate together, show gratitude and give thanks.
To learn more about the cultural programs offered at KSU, visit the websites of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Chinese Language and Culture Club or the Asian Studies Association. To stay up to date on any upcoming events hosted by the departments visit Owl Life.
