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September 24, 2019

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Everything you need to know about the Mid-Autumn Festival

By Mikael Masson | 00:05 UTC+8 September 24, 2019 | Print Edition

The Mid-Autumn Festival is both a centuries-old Chinese holiday and an important one in modern Chinese culture. Throughout the week, students from beginner to experienced Mandarin classes at Shanghai Community International School took part in cultural activities to celebrate and understand this exciting holiday.

Students learned the festival’s long history and celebration activities such as sharing mooncakes, worshipping the moon with gifts, playing with and flying lanterns. They then participated in fun and engaging hands-on activities such as lantern and fan-making, traditional Chinese poetry and mooncake tasting.

To properly understand and appreciate the significance of this holiday, here is a list of everything you need to know about the Mid-Autumn festival.

The Moon: The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the one night of the year when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. In the past, people would gather in courtyards to celebrate the harvest and make offerings to the moon. Today, people gather with friends and family to enjoy the view of the moon together.

Harvest festival: In addition to the moon, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also about celebrating the annual harvest. Revolving around food, it is a time when communities gather for feasts, eating plenty of dishes and finishing off with the most important and traditional dessert of the festival: mooncakes!

Mooncakes: Mooncakes (月饼) are traditional Chinese pastries. They are made from wheat, flour and all kinds of dense sweet or savory stuffing such as pork, red bean paste and egg yolk. These are quite filling, so be sure to save some room.

Gathering: According to tradition, the roundness of the full moon is connected to a sense of completeness and togetherness, which is why the festival is a time to be with loved ones. It is a time for reunions where family members from close and far come together to admire the moon and eat traditional food and express their gratitude for one another.

The legend of Chang’e flying to the moon: The Mid-Autumn Festival is an annual event that dates back centuries and is told through many legends. One of the most widely told legends is that of the goddess Change’e, who flew to the moon and made it her permanent home, after drinking a magic elixir that gave her eternal life.

No matter where you are spending the holiday, we hope you get a chance to enjoy the moon and wish you and your loved ones 中秋节快乐!

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