To many Asian people, mid-to-late September or early October is a time for unity, gratitude, and celebration. For those unaware of why this time of the month is significant, that is because the highly celebrated and loved Mid-Autumn Festival usually falls on a day in mid-to-late September or early October. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of the most valued holidays in East and Southeast Asia. While the festival is celebrated in different ways by families and isn’t the same in every country, the concept of unity and coming together as a family, friends, and a community remains in the foundation of it no matter the country celebrating it. Perhaps that’s why so many love and celebrate it.
Some history of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is over 3,000 years old and was originally when people around Asia worshiped the moon and prayed for a good harvest in the upcoming year. This celebration was said to have originated from the tradition of moon honoring that happened during the Song Dynasty in China and spread around Asia later on. Many myths are associated with the Mid-Autumn festival, but the most common are the story of the Jade Rabbit and the story of Chang’e. There are different versions of the stories in other cultures, but no matter what, the stories continue to instill the importance of compassion, selflessness, and love.
Some of the countries that celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival are China, South Korea, and Japan.
China:
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second-largest holiday in China. It is a time when families come together, have a meaningful meal like Americans would on Thanksgiving, and eat delicious mooncakes (a famous Chinese dessert). In China, colorful and decorated lanterns are often created and displayed to celebrate the big event. It is common to see kids running around with little glowing lanterns and enjoying fun activities while the adults catch up on missed time. To many Chinese people, the Mid-Autumn Festival is about gathering together as a community, showing appreciation, and enjoying themselves. That is what the holiday is all about.
South Korea:
In South Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Chuseok, also known as the Korean Thanksgiving. Chuseok is one of South Korea’s most important holidays, celebrated for three
days, and is a time when families come together and give thanks to their ancestors. For many Koreans, Chuseok is a crucial part of their culture. During this time, it’s common for people to dress in traditional Korean clothes (the hanbok) while enjoying activities, family meals, and tasty songpyeon (traditional Korean rice cakes). In South Korea, Chuseok is primarily about showing gratitude, spending time with family or friends, and celebrating ancestors.
Japan:
Japan’s variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Otsukimi and is a little similar to how the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in China but without the mooncakes. It’s a time when families go moon-viewing, give food offerings like delicious rice dumplings to the moon in appreciation, and eat tasty rabbit-decorated mochi (a Japanese rice cake). In Japan, people see rabbits pounding mochi with a mallet in the craters of the lunar moon, so decorating and displaying foods with rabbits and full moons is a common practice. While the Japanese people don’t quite celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival as elaborately as Koreans and Chinese people, this holiday is still important to them. It is a time when they are to show gratitude to the moon.
Radford University’s Mid-Autumn Celebration
This past Saturday, September 30, 2023, Radford University’s Chinese Club hosted a Mid-Autumn festival celebration in collaboration with the Asian Pop Culture Club for the first time since COVID-19 occurred. Because it has been so long since the Chinese club hosted this celebration, there was a lot of anticipation for it. The Mid-Autumn celebration was open to the whole community and had a range of activities for people to engage in at different stations while listening to traditional Chinese instrumental music and conversing with friends and family. To add to the festivity of the celebration, the Chinese club invited the Blacksburg Chinese school and the Dragon Tiger Eagle-Wushu Kungfu to perform at the event.
Photo’s by: Bria Davis
A few things that many people liked at the event were: – Practicing calligraphy
-Making and coloring ornaments
-Painting, decorating, and making lanterns and lions
-Watching the four performances done by the Blacksburge Chinese School
-Watching the performances done by the Dragon Tiger Eagle-Wushu Kungfu
-Seeing the infamous Gong Fu Master Simon Kwong and his display of skills
-Eating delicious mooncakes
Having observed the joy it brings to the students, families, and friends who attended the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, the Chinese club aims to continue hosting this annual event again. Their goal is to keep the tradition of hosting the Mid-Autumn celebration alive.