St. Petersburg College students experienced Chinese cultural performances (dance, song, music, etc.) and tasted moon cakes on Monday, October 2, 2017, at the University of South Florida Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. The Moon Festival is commemorated by the Chinese on the 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar, which happens to be on October 2 in 2017.
The event was located in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom at the University of South Florida Tampa Campus, it was open to everyone, and it was free. Co-sponsors of the event included the USF World, Chinese Students and Scholars Association, INTO USF, Global Citizens Project, Chinese Culture and Language Club, Department of World Languages, Honors College, Office of Multi-cultural Affairs, Chinese American Association of Tampa Bay, and Suncoast Association of Chinese Americans.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is an inherited custom of moon sacrificial ceremonies. The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production. Hence, to express their thanks to the moon and celebrate the harvest, they offered a sacrifice to the moon on autumn days. Romantically speaking, the festival is to commemorate Chang E, who in order to protect her beloved husband’s elixir, ate it herself and flew to the moon.
On the festival day, family members gather to offer sacrifice to the moon, appreciate the bright full moon, eat moon cakes, and express strong yearnings toward family members and friends who live afar. In addition, there are some other customs like playing lanterns, and dragon and lion dances in some regions. The unique customs of ethnic minorities are interesting as well, such as “chasing the moon” of Mongolians, and “steal vegetables or fruits” of the Dong people.
The Moon Cake is the special food of Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in various flavors according to the region. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family, so it is easy to understand how the eating of moon cakes under the round moon can evoke longing for distant relatives and friends. Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.
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