Experiencing the holidays is one of the best parts of cultural immersion. How a people group celebrates and remembers tells so much about their beliefs, history, and culture. The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节,pinyin: zhōngqiū jié) is one such holiday that has been celebrated in China for well over a thousand years. The story of this holiday differs depending on which part of the country you are in, and who tells, it but it typically involves a warrior who shoots down nine of the ten suns in the sky, an elixir of immortality that his lover is eventually is coerced into drinking, she flies to the moon to stay near her lover, and once a year he sets out fruit and moon cakes (a very popular type of dense bread served in a large, round, disc-like shape).
Although the worship and sacrifices are rarely done, the aspect of thanksgiving for the “harvest,” unity, and family are still celebrated diligently. So, you could easily say, this is the Chinese “Thanksgiving” holiday, and it’s treated with almost as equal importance as “Thanksgiving” is treated in the US. I say “almost” due to so many students sticking around town instead of going home to be with family. Cooking takes place much of the day, and a large feast is eaten around 11:00 at night among the family.
Our partaking in such a festival is not quite as extreme as most citizens, but we did “celebrate” in some regards today with a group of Christian students. In the morning we went to the top of a local hill where we played games, sang, ate lots of fruit and moon cakes, worshiped, and even had a sermon given in Chinese on prayer. Despite my slight cold and Bethany getting a rather bad case of sunburn, the event was a very joyous occasion.
The greatest joy though came from building continued relationships with the students. Although most of these particular students are Christians, it is an honor for us to continue to support, encourage, and – hopefully – in some way strengthen them in their walk. After all, they’re going to be able to relate to other students much more effectively for Christ much better than we can.
Personally, I’ve grown attached to a young man in this group. Although his English is about as poor as my Chinese, as he’s not an English Major, we still seem to have made a kind of bond together. They say that body language is more than 80% of communication, and it’s situations and relationships like these that tell me just how true that really is. As the year goes on, I can find a way to continue to encourage him in his walk with Christ.
Bethany has kept herself quite busy as well with relationships and teaching. The Freshmen have finally started their classes just in time to be interrupted during their first week with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Her new Cultural Movie course has also started up, and will give her a chance to share many different aspect of Western Culture, and with it aspects of her Faith.
The Festival for us closes with our college’s Sports Festival on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Hopefully Bethany’s massive sunburn from today will settle down in time for her to play without any discomfort. Due to gifts from the School, teachers, and the group today, we now have tons of fruit and moon cakes to consume. I’m hoping to share this added joy with more students in the near future before they all go bad!
Here’s to the joy of friends, fun, food, and Christian family! May the thanksgiving and joy of Christ continue to shine through us!