On September 16th, Candice’s Mandarin 3 class joined Wenchi’s 1A class for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, Zhōngqiū Jié) celebration. The Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated in many countries throughout Asia every year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. We were lucky to be able to celebrate this piece of Chinese history in class as well with upcoming Chinese language students.
On 中秋节, Chinese people traditionally eat mooncakes, round pastries filled with various ingredients. The most common fillings for mooncakes are lotus seed paste, salted egg yolk, and red bean. Chinese people also enjoy seasonal fruits such as pomelos, symbolizing prosperity and family reunion. In class we got the opportunity to try various different mooncakes, the pomelo fruit (cut traditionally by Wenchi), and even some homebrewed tea.
Mandarin 3 students made their way to the front of the classroom to help the Mandarin 1A class the tale of Chang’e, Hou Yi and the elixir of immortality. The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival centers around the legend of Chang'e, the moon goddess. According to the story, Chang'e drank an elixir of immortality and ascended to the moon, where she now resides. Every year during the Mid-Autumn festival, Hou-yi visits Chang’e on the moon, symbolizing reunion and harmony. People who celebrate the holiday offer and eat mooncakes to honor the moon goddess and her sacrifice. We were lucky to share in this bit of ancient Chinese history for the day.