Brittney Williams
MC Contributor/Staff
Sounds of laughter and conversation filled the air of the Jacob L. Reddix Complex General Purpose Room on Oct. 2 during the annual Chinese Moon Festival.
The Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, falls on the 15th of the 8th month, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
According to Chinatravel.com, the Mid-autumn festival is one of the two most important occasions in Chinese calendar and it is an official holiday. It is a time for families to be together, so people far from home will gaze longingly at the moon and think about their families.
The Moon Cake is the special food of Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in various flavors according to the region. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family, according to Chinatravel.com.
The celebration, sponsored by JSU Global and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, started with a warm welcome and traditional Chinese food.
During the dinner, guests ate moon cakes. The cakes symbolize the reunion of family and evokes longing for relatives and friends.
Yu Bao hosted the moon cake ceremony and said that the event reminded her of how she used to celebrate the festival with her family.
“I’m homesick. This is the second year of my masters here… so I miss my family so much,” said Bao, a graduate student majoring in business administration from China.
She added: “We get together and watch the moon and watch the ceremony on television and we will eat a moon cake together.”
With a goal of promoting cultural exchange and diversity, attendees at the festival were also exposed to Chinese poetry, calligraphy, a tea ceremony, and singing.
“Tradition is very important in Chinese culture,” said Courtney Walker, a junior English major from East St. Louis, Ill. “All the performances and speeches taught a lesson about how the Moon Festival started and how they still carry on the traditions today.”
The evening continued with musical performances, dances, games.
The Adhiambo School and JSU’s Chinese 101 class joined t to sing “Two Tigers” and a poem, “Contemplating Moonlight.”
Later a performance from the Joy Luck Club Dance Team adorned in traditional Tangzhuang and Qipao clothing thrilled the audience.
The event ended with Tangzhuang and Qipao Fashion show.
Gerson Guevara, a freshman political science major from Austin Hill, Md., said the cultural aspect of the event made it a must see.
“I am a person who really likes to learn about other cultures because I love learning about languages especially. So the more you learn about them, the more worldly you feel even though you don’t get to travel. It’s sort of like traveling while staying on campus,” said Guevara.
Other guests in attendance were impressed with the authentic performances, costumes, and music.
“I feel like we should experience other people’s culture at least once,” said Stephen Diew, a junior biology/pre-medicine major from Yazoo City, Miss.
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