The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Cake Festival, is an Asian holiday celebrated sometime in late September or early October. The ancient Chinese emperors would worship the Moon, thanking it for its gifts during harvest season. The tradition of celebrating and worshipping the Moon during the time when it is believed to be the largest and brightest in the night sky is one that has lasted for thousands of years. This special tradition is also celebrated in other Asian countries such as Korea and Japan.
My study abroad friends and I joined a local International Students' club at Southwest Minzu University. It consisted of mostly Chinese college students who wanted to make friends with international students and practice their English. We instantly connected well, and they invited us to a Moon Cake Festival event at a local community recreational center. We learned how to make red bean moon cakes and painted some traditional watercolor paintings, including one on a wooden fan! We gave out the moon cakes as gifts along with seasonal fruits, and that night, we lay outside on the soccer track of the university, eating moon cakes under the bright moonlight.
