This year, the first day of October marks the first celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Western New York. Students will not only celebrate the moon, however, as the festival falls on another important day – China's National Day.
The UB Confucius Institute and Chinese Club of Western New York have united to begin what they hope to be an annual occurrence in the Buffalo area.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, famous for its lunar worshipping and moon watching, is one of the foremost important Chinese festivals.
"For the Chinese New Year, we get [presents] in red packages and the entire family gets together for dinner," said Audrey Siek, a senior communication major. "For the Moon Festival, it's pretty much the same [celebration], except you eat mooncakes. It's fun and brings a sense of family when everyone goes outside to look at the moon."
Mooncakes are round pastries typically eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are given out as presents to relatives and friends.
The tradition of celebrating the moon at its fullest is a notable occasion for the Chinese culture. Honoring the occasion locally, also known as the Chinese Moon Festival, has UB's Chinese community feeling proud.
Eric Yang, the director of the UB Confucius Institute, hopes the local celebration of the Chinese festival will help the community gain better awareness of the Chinese culture.
"The primary goal is to promote the teaching of the Chinese language, the culture in Western New York and promote the understanding of China today," Yang said.
The UB Confucius Institute, part of a network of 300 Confucius Institutes around the world, is a collaborative program involving UB's Asian Studies program, Capital Normal University in Beijing and the Chinese Language Council International.
But the Chinese Moon Festival will not be the only reason for the celebration as the first of October also marks China's National Day.
The Chinese Fall Festival will feature student performances from the College of Music at Capital Normal University. The dance troupe of the Chinese Club of Western New York will be performing traditional and contemporary pieces that night. Buffalo Chinese School's Performance Troupe will also perform during the celebration. Of all the performers, the most anticipated are the members of the Song of Silk Beijing Opera troupe.
According to Yang, there are rumors that the featured dance troupes will tour local schools in the future to further spread Chinese culture.
The Chinese Fall Festival will be held on Friday, Oct. 1. The event will take place at the Flickinger Performing Arts Center of Nichols School at 1250 Amherst St. at 7 p.m., and is free to the general public.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
