The Festival will be Friday, September 13, beginning
at 6 p.m. on the main stage of the Johnston Center for the
Performing Arts at the Lincoln College campus. Students will be
doing a traditional performance, followed by a Q&A and reception.
Admission is free.
The eight visiting Chinese students and their host, Professor Bing
Wang, are participating in the first International Exchange Program
at Lincoln College. The program provides an immersive experience for
Chinese students interested in studying in the United States. The
students are visiting from Shenyang Jianzhu University in China.
Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important festival celebrated
in China. It is held on the 15th of August on the lunar calendar
(the full moon day). The moon on this day is the brightest and
roundest, which symbolizes family union in Chinese culture. At the
Festival, family members gather to celebrate it by watching the
moon, eating mooncake, and enjoying the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala
organized by CCTV (China Central Television).
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Professor Bing Wang offered additional insight into the
performance saying, “Mid-Autumn Festival was initiatively used to express
people’s worship of the moon. It is depicted in the most well-known myth:
Goddess Chang’e Flying to the Moon. Since the Tang Dynasty (618 AD), watching
the full moon and creating poetries on this day is very popular among Literati.
In the history of Chinese literature, thousands of poems are associated with
this Festival. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368) Chinese people began to celebrate
it as an important occasion for family reunions as Chinese people do today.”
[Lauren Grenlund
Director of Public Relations
Lincoln College] |