Yi-Chun LeFaure, also known as Lin, and Chunmei Guan are Chinese teachers at Logansport High School. They both run the Chinese club along with the celebration of the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Moon Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Lunar New Year are three big celebrations in which families and friends gather together to celebrate those holidays.
“For the Moon Festival, people normally eat mooncakes with tea and admire the round, bright moon and appreciate the company of the people we cherish,” Lin said. “Circles are a big part of the Moon Festival because it symbolizes the family reunion, and everyone sits around to enjoy the mooncake and the companionship.”
The Moon Festival traditions have been passed down from generation to generation for many years, and most of those traditions are still the same.
“The elders taught, told and celebrated this holiday with me since I was little,” Lin said. “So, I’m going to keep the same tradition and pass it on to my students and my own kids.”
Lin has been having students learn and celebrate the Moon Festival in different ways and has a few ideas of what she plans to do in the future.
“I hope next year I can have my students use the mooncake mold and Play-Doh to make beautiful mooncake models and keep them in a nice, clear case for the students to keep,” Lin said. “Or, maybe we can learn to sing a festive Moon Festival song.”
Lin celebrates the Moon Festival in order to let her kids and students understand all about it.
“Students should know the importance of the family reunion,” Lin said. “Also, how much we respect and want to carry on our traditions with the next generation.”
Junior Kiara DeInnocentes engages with helping Lin prepare the celebration.
“My overall feelings about the Moon Festival are excitement and positivity,” DeInnocentes said. “It’s just the atmosphere of a celebration, performance, feasts and good things that always do good on someone’s soul.”
DeInnocentes hopes that future generations do not change anything about the traditions of the Moon Festival.
“It’s a very long-lasting celebration, and I’m more of just a newer-generation celebrator,” DeInnocentes said. “To me, it’s fine as it is, and I will respect the knowledge and traditions that are passed down to me.”
Lin and Guan have both taught students about Chinese culture, including the Moon Festival.
“I usually celebrate the Moon Festival with the Chinese teachers, Lin and Guan,” DeInnocentes said. “I’ve only started celebrating the Moon Festival because they taught and celebrated it with the Chinese clubs and classes. I also enjoy embracing traditions that I didn’t get to experience firsthand.”
Freshman Sofia Herrera shares her favorite part of the Moon Festival, which is two stories. One of which is about an immortal moon goddess and the other about a hardworking rabbit.
“My favorite part of the story was when the rabbit goes to the moon with Chang’e the Moon Goddess,” Herrera said. “The story said that the Moon Goddess was no longer lonely after meeting the rabbit which mostly explains what the Moon Festival is about.”
Mooncakes are traditionally served for the Moon Festival and have many different fillings for the inside of the dough.
“In my opinion, I think mooncakes are delicious,” Herrera said. “They have different fillings so if you don’t like one, there’s always another option you could choose.”
Herrera’s favorite part about the Moon Festival is the evening celebration where families gather and spend time together.
“I think the evening celebration is the most important part of the Moon Festival,” Herrera said. “Families would gather together to light lanterns, eat mooncakes, and appreciate the round moon. It brings family and friends together, and I think that’s the most important lesson students can learn while celebrating the Moon Festival.”
