By: Huiran “Sherry” Yan
“Zhong Qiu Jie” is traditional Chinese festival which has the cute English name of Mooncake Day. It is a time for Chinese family members and beloved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon – an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. In ancient times, adults would usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the young would run around with their brightly-lit lanterns. Nowadays, it remains an essential time for all Chinese families.
However, this year I was not with my family celebrating this festival. I am an international student. This is my first semester in the PEI and I have been here for nearly one month. Last Sunday was the Mooncake Day. It was so special to me, because it was my first Mooncake Day without my family members. I missed them so much. Luckily, I spent that day with some friends. They are like my second family members. We went to the Chinese Church witnessing the baptism for three people, enjoying the home-made food there, and seeing the performance for mid-autumn festival. The baptism was so sacred. The food was delicious and the performance was wonderful. What a fulfilling festival it was! Here are some pictures of the food I took on that day. I really liked the food there. Haha~
Image courtesy of Huiran “Sherry” Yan
That evening, we six people enjoyed dinner together just like one big family. I liked the family atmosphere. We enjoyed the food made by ourselves, communicating with each other and sharing our stories. It really made me feel so warm; there was no difference compared to my real family members. Here, I want to say I do not regret choosing to study here, because I’ve been able to make nice friends! How happy was the festival we spent together!
Even though I was far from my family, I was so moved spending this important festival with friends here. And on that day, I did not only enjoy the festival, but also saw a big moon–a bleeding one! I had never seen the moon like that before, especially that day was Moon-cake Day! It was so lucky! Although that night was so cold, the low temperature outside could not stop me sitting on the grass waiting for the moon turning red! I was really excited about seeing blood moon. It was a meaningful mooncake day, because the blood moon ended this year’s festival! It was the festival I will always keep in my mind.