From AP student presentations and food tastings, to dance performances and display tables, Viewpoint School held school-wide Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations this week.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is the second most important festival in Chinese tradition, following the Spring Festival, and can be compared to Thanksgiving in some ways. The Moon Festival occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, which falls on different dates in the Gregorian calendar. This year, the Moon Festival was celebrated on September 17.

On September 16, the Chinese III and AP Chinese classes combined to celebrate the festival. Each AP Chinese student gave an oral presentation on the Moon Festival, accompanied by vivid and creative visual aids. Then, each student appreciated and recited a famous ancient Chinese poem “Jingyesi” by Li Bai. The two classes together made ice cream mooncakes and tasted traditional Chinese snacks such as fresh dates, sunflower seeds, and rice crackers etc. Finally, the class concluded by evaluating the students' cultural knowledge about the festival through a fun Kahoot game.

Our Middle School marked the occasion with special lunchtime activities, including a performance by the local Chinese group PPMA featuring traditional music and dance. Chinese class students led riddle-solving games, a festival tradition, and parent volunteers served mooncakes. 

In the Primary and Lower School divisions, parent volunteers hosted display tables with giveaways during lunchtime and provided video presentations and crossword puzzles for use in the classroom. Display tables educated and inspired the students over a two-day period:

• Monday, September 16: Chuseok display table

  • Chuseok is a three-day harvest festival celebrated as a significant holiday in Korean culture. Chuseok (pronounced chu-sock) translates to “Autumn Eve, " also known as Korean Thanksgiving. Chuseok is a time to return home to family, celebrate and show gratitude for the harvest, and honor ancestors. An essential aspect of the holiday is cleaning ancestors' tombs and paying respects by offering them the Chuseok feast. 

• Tuesday, September 17: Mid-Autumn Festival Display Table

  • Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon(cake) Festival, marks the full moon at its brightest and most total size, coinciding with harvest time.