As part of the Chinese Mandarin curriculum and cultural exposure, Middle School Mandarin students made snowy mooncakes in class, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival this week. Seventh grade students Grace Hisey, Emmeline Kilcullen, Lulu Meisel, and Drew McInerney introduced the holiday to the Middle School as part of the Tuesday Announcements.
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Harvest Moon Festival, is celebrated by many Asian communities, including those of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Singaporean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Thai descent. The festival originated in China over 3,000 years ago as a post-harvest celebration and has spread throughout East and Southeast Asia. It is always celebrated on August 15 (a full moon) on the Lunar calendar, and this year it lands on September 17.
Middle School Mandarin classes practiced writing Chinese characters that represent the festival. Ms. Zhang explained to the class the legend of Chang'e, and the Chinese traditions that are part of the holiday celebrations. Students learned that on the Mid-Autumn Festival evening, people get together with their families, enjoy a feast with mooncakes as dessert, and appreciate the moon, which is at its roundest and brightest. Students were excited to try making mooncakes on their own! The process involved using a patterned mold to press shapes onto rice flour dough with red bean paste fillings inside.
Sixth grade student Beckett shared: "One tip for making mooncakes is to use plenty of flour so they don't stick. They tasted really good!"