Chinese Students Association hosted its annual Mid-Autumn Festival in Norris University Center’s Louis Room on Sunday, celebrating the full moon and autumn harvest. Attendees participated in various Chinese cultural games and activities where they were able to collect raffle tickets and prizes.
During the festival, people around the world have meals with family, eat mooncakes and make lanterns. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the largest celebrated holidays in Chinese culture, along with the Lunar New Year.
Community and togetherness are traditionally celebrated during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is typically spent with family members. The full moon, which the holiday celebrates, is meant to symbolize unity and fortune.
Weinberg sophomore and CSA cultural chair Ethan Li said he tried to incorporate multiple engaging activities when planning the event.
“We try to mix fun and entertainment with a little bit of cultural education,” Li said. “For example, we have calligraphy so people can learn how to write some of the Mid-Autumn Festival’s important terms.”
During the event, Heirloom, a student band, and the Treblemakers, an a cappella group, each performed a variety of songs.
Weinberg junior Hannah Jung, who performed with the Treblemakers, said the group sang East Asian music to embody the culture.
“As the primarily East Asian group, our goal is to share that culture through music,” Jung said. “We do a lot of or the majority of our arrangements are in East Asian languages. When we do English songs, we try to highlight East Asian artists as well. Performing is a good way for us to stay connected to the East Asian community.”
Weinberg sophomore and CSA Cultural Chair Brian Han planned the majority of the event, while other CSA executive members were present to help and support the event.
Weinberg senior and CSA President Natalie Wu said her goals for the club are to welcome people from all backgrounds and host similar cultural events in the future.
“We have a lot of people who are trying to join, but I also see that as a really good thing where a lot of people are trying to get more involved and learn more about the culture,” Wu said. “It’s just been super fun getting to meet everyone and celebrate culture together. There are also people who don’t know what Mid-Autumn Festival is and are learning for the first time.”
At the event, members had mooncakes and Chinese candy, wrote calligraphy and played trivia, where they were able to learn about traditional Chinese deities and symbols associated with the holiday.
McCormick freshman Jack O’Neal said he enjoyed celebrating his Chinese heritage.
“I’m half white and half Asian,” O’Neal said. “I spend a lot of time with my white side, but I really like engaging with the Asian content here. We did an activity where we wrote Chinese characters, and it had me reminiscing to back in the day when I went to Chinese school and did similar stuff to this.”
Li, who is from Oklahoma, said that as an Asian American, he was typically the minority in his town. He said he did not have chances to express his Asian culture as much as he does now in college.
As the cultural chair, Li said leading events like the Mid-Autumn festival has helped him appreciate his heritage more.
“I definitely feel like I didn’t have a lot of chances to express and learn more about my culture,” Li said. “Coming here, I’ve met a lot of amazing people and got to learn more about my culture.”
O’Neal said while he traditionally celebrates the festival by having a meal with his family, he has found several close friends to enjoy the holiday with during his first weeks at NU.
“Everyone else celebrating is not with their family right now,” O’Neal said. “We’re like one big family.”
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