Allison Jasso, left, and exchange student Gloria, right, discuss the myths for the festival.
The Chinese Cultures class, taught by Courtney Bruntz, the Asian Studies professor on campus, held an event to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival took place this past Friday, allowing students the chance to try a piece of mooncake, take a piece of rabbit candy, and make a wish for their friends and family. Students had a choice between red bean or lotus flower mooncake. The festival was orchestrated by the Chinese Cultures class, along with some help from the Interfaith team. Bruntz used the festival as an assignment for her class, giving students reign over the decorations and the actual event itself.
The festival was also celebrated the year before last, organized by Bruntz.
There are multiple myths and stories associated with this Chinese holiday, however the class stuck with one rendition to tell their peers about.“
The point of the festival on campus was to bring cultural awareness and education to Doane,” junior Allison Jasso said.
The festival is used to celebrate the year’s harvest and is similar to the Western notion of Thanksgiving. “My favorite part was seeing the joy on the Chinese exchange students’ faces. It made me really happy to hear from them that we were doing well and that it made them happy,” Jasso said.
There are a handful of exchange students from China that came to the event to participate and even teach the students more about the tradition from their point of view. The myth behind the event is based off of the moon goddess, Chang’e. In the version taught at the event, Chang’e and her husband, Hou Yi, were thrown to Earth after a misunderstanding with the Jade Emperor. He made them mortal and banished them from the heavens. According to the China Educational Tours website, her husband was gifted an immortality elixir by the “Mother of the West” after explaining the misunderstanding. Drinking half of the potion would grant immortality, while drinking the entirety would make one ascend from Earth as a full immortal. Her husband brought the elixir home to share but Chang’e got curious and drank the entire bottle. She then begins to float above the Earth.
She was banned from the heavens, so she landed on the moon to spend entirety alone without her husband. The mooncakes represent Chang’e on the moon and are a popular dish during the festival season.
Many people head home to be with their families during the festival. The festival represents a collectivist culture and shows reverence toward one’s ancestors.
The event allowed students to teach their peers in a less pressured environment. It also allowed students to try some new foods and start a conversation about cultural differences.
