The fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration that focuses on the moon. 

In China, aside from the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most important festival symbolizing reunion. The roundness of the full moon expresses people’s desire for a wholesome happy family. 

Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by having a large dinner with family, worshiping the moon with gifts, traveling, viewing lantern shows, eating mooncakes, and flying lanterns to pray for their happiness and the happiness of their families.

This year, the Program in Asian Studies organized a large dinner for students to celebrate this traditional Chinese festival. Students who are learning Chinese or are Chinese native speakers enjoyed a great meal of hotpot, mooncakes, and other Chinese dishes. “We are like a big family!” said Leia Gallego Calle, a student from Chinese-201 class.

Beginning this semester, the Asian Studies Program will be sponsoring a semester-long series of Friday night activities from movie nights to workshops led by fellow Bates students sharing their own hobbies such as Chinese calligraphy and dance.