This year marked the 11th time the URI Chinese program hosted the traditional Moon Festival celebration. PHOTO CREDIT: James Singer
For the 11th time, the University of Rhode Island Chinese Program held the traditional Chinese Moon Festival at the Quad.
“It is a way to promote the Chinese tradition and not only Asians but all of the students and faculty on campus can join us in this festival and bring some diversity to campus,” said Yiping Zhang, a lecturer of Chinese on campus.
The festival was filled with events associated with Chinese culture. After signing up for the event via a Google Form, students could take part in activities, learning things such as calligraphy and paper folding and play games such as ping pong.
The Moon Festival is celebrated traditionally on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, usually corresponding to mid-September or early October. It is based around the moon empress Chang’e, who, in Chinese tradition, stole the elixir of immortality from her husband and became the goddess of the moon. The festival has been celebrated since the Zhang Dynasty to mark the end of the autumn harvest and has continued to grow.
“Actually, there is a tradition behind this festival: most emperors worshipped the moon so it was accepted by the masses and became more popular over time,” Zhang said.
She said that the festival is used as a sort of family gathering and reunion. In China, it is considered a national holiday with similarities to American Thanksgiving.
During the festival, the traditional Chinese mooncake, a sweet pastry made from egg yolk and red bean paste, is served, typically with tea. In addition, other snacks such as pineapple cake, feng shui su and mahua, a twisted fried dough dish, were offered.
While typically the event would also include performers such as singers and dancers indoors, due to COVID-19 concerns, they were not present at this year’s event, which was held completely outdoors.
The festival was run with the help of volunteers from the Chinese Program, often involved with the Chinese Language Flagship Program, such as junior Leon Hartley.
“It’s nice because you get to meet new people and I just enjoy the community that we have here; the teachers are great and the students are great,” he said.
Hartley said that he thinks the event gives Asian students a sense of normalcy at a predominantly white institution, while also introducing non-Chinese students to another culture that they may not be as familiar with.
According to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Jen Riley, the Flagship Program is important to develop intercultural competence and is a five-year program that also includes an internship abroad during the fifth year in either China or Taiwan.
“One of the reasons the government funds this program is that it is essential for our security that we have more Chinese-speaking people in various places of government,” Riley said.
She pointed out that the language program is continuing to expand, with over 700 students majoring in another language, and that by doing so, it leads to involvement in events like the Moon Festival where students can learn more about other cultures and learn how to work with people from these cultures as well.