Chinese-American Museum of Chicago - 2013

www.ccamuseum.org

Mid-Autumn Festival (September 19, 2013)

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiuji), also known as the Moon Festival, falls on the
15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar and is usually sometime in September or
early October. It celebrates the biggest and brightest full moon of the year - the harvest
moon. The Moon Festival has a long history and is full of legendary stories such as the
Moon Lady-Chang E, Hou Yi, Wu Kang and the hare-Jade Rabbit.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is over 3,000 years old and is one of the two most important
holidays in the Chinese calendar - Lunar New Year being the other. The Moon Festival
celebrates many traditions about the moon and its roundness. Families gather for large
reunions and have outdoor picnics and feasts where they admire the bright full moon, eat
moon cakes, pomelos, star fruits and persimmons, light lanterns and express strong
yearnings for their homes and think of family members who live far away. The
roundness of the moon, the moon cakes and fruits represents family reunion and
wholeness. This festival is similar to the traditional American Thanksgiving when
families get together for dinner. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated through most of
East Asia and all over the world where there are Chinese communities. Throughout its
long history, Chinese people have honored the moon through poems and songs.

Learn a few phrases in Mandarin for the Mid-Autumn Festival:

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

!
Zhngqi kuil!

Wish you and your family a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

!
Zh n h n de jirn zhngqi kuil!
A famous poem by Li Bai

Thoughts in the Silent Night

Li Bai ()

The moonlight is shinning through the window ( )

And it makes me wonder if it is the frost on the ground ( ),
Looking up to see the moon ... ( )
Looking down I miss so much about my hometown ( ).

Li Bai used his lines to express his homesickness at the Moon Festival.

Resources

Listed below are some informative websites for the Mid-Autumn Festival - history and
origins, lesson plans, student activities, coloring pages, moon cake recipes, lanterns,
videos and slide presentations, etc., for teachers and parents to introduce the Mid-Autumn
Festival to their classes/children to expand their multi-cultural awareness.

http://voices.yahoo.com/resources-lesson-plans-celebrating-mid-572243.html
comprehensive site
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/preschool-lesson-plans/124136-autumn-chinese-
moon-festival-lesson/
http://kidworldcitizen.org/2012/10/04/the-mid-autumn-festival-the-moon-fairy-and-
mooncakes/
http://learningbynumbers.blogspot.com/2011/11/chinese-mid-autumn-festival.html
Mid-Autumn Festival
http://www.chinabornkids.com/moon.html
TLC "Moon Festival Mooncakes for Kids"
http://ncta.osu.edu/lesson_on_ch.html -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=alAkWXXM8TQ
http://www.slideshare.net/sulaoshi/chinese-moon-festival-and-customs
http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/14Traditions98.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78311.htm
http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/Culture/EnjoyBJ/t950624.htm
http://www.childbook.com/Chinese-Moon-Festival-Midautumn-Festival-s/94.htm
http://www.littlepassports.com/blog/2012/09/celebrate-the-mid-autumn-festival/
http://cultureofchinese.com/traditions/festivals-customs/the-origin-and-legends-of-the-
mid-autumn-festival/
http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/mooncake.htm
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/history-and-origin.htm
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm
http://www.finedininglovers.com/recipes/dessert/chinese-food-mooncake-recipe/
http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/recipes.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIE66BQB3UE Mid-Autumn Fest M Esub
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbScHxr-vD8 Mid-Autumn Fest M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGiFx5ahPKs Mid-Aut Hou Yi Shoots the Suns M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EcQfysxxbo Moon Story Part 1 Hou Yi E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e467EGdSNyQ Moon Story Part 2 Hou Yi E

Mid-Autumn Festival - Children's Books

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival by Mina Tenison

Chinese Feasts & Festivals: A Cookbook by S.C. Moey

Lin Yi's Lantern by Brenda Williams

Mei-Ling in China City by Icy Smith

Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russel

Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds

Thank You, Mei-Ling by Linda Talley

Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival by Grace Lin

The Beggar's Magic: A Chinese Tale by Margaret Chang and Raymond Chang

The Moon Lady by Amy Tan

To Share One Moon by Ruowen Wang

We See The Moon by Carrie Kitze