Big Moon Festival (Mid-Autumn Festival)

I am quickly learning the Chinese love to give gifts.

Teacher's Day was a couple weeks ago and we were flooded with gifts. I was surprised because we'd only been in school for two weeks. There were Belgium Chocolates, flowers, gift cards (from the school and from the parents), hand made cards, and even yogurt in a cloth lunch sack. 

Remember Little Miss Biter? Her mom came through big time (as Sara and I were hoping she would...sshhh)!

She got me a fancy schmancy pen and several face products. Thankfully, I was told early on to look for the fine print to see if it says whitening on any body products I get here.  Obviously, if there's no English on the product and there's not an interpreter around then I forego that product until I have more knowledge of what I'm getting. We Westerners want to be more tan while Asians want to be more white! 

Sadly, this quality face cream is all about the paling of the skin. I promptly asked Sara if she would like it. 

It is not unusual for me to leave the room and come back to find a present on my desk. Either Sara or our ayi (Chinese word for: nanny, janitor, cook, maid, etc.) usually informs me it's from someone who got married or had a baby. So far I've had no idea who these people are. I just get the gifts and my Dutch mind starts calculating if I ever find myself about to get married or have a baby and I'm in this culture, I should probably consider working at a smaller company. Seriously, that's a LOT of gifts!

The other day Sara told me one of our children's parents asked if we would like some meat. I thought perhaps I wasn't understanding her correctly. We went back and forth repeating the same word multiple times (this is not uncommon) until I finally determined the mom was, indeed, asking if we would like some meat. A few days later I went home with a couple pounds of what I hope is ground beef!

This weekend is the Moon Cake Festival, Big Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival. I'm not sure if people translate it differently or if there are actually multiple titles for the festival. There are a lot of folk legends about the history of this festival. One mom told me to compare it to Valentine's Day in the states. Something about two lovers finally being able to cross a bridge on the night of the Big Moon. I haven't been able to find a story confirming that one yet. 

In researching, I am actually finding it's more comparable to Thanksgiving. I'm told families get together and eat a lot of food, especially moon cakes, while looking at the big moon. 

Here's a fun little video sharing the story to one of the more widely known traditions surrounding this holiday. 

I had my kiddos color pages about moon cakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival. They really enjoy coloring and it keeps them all occupied for about ten minutes. Plus, I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired and I desperately needed something constructive for them to do that would keep them relatively quiet. 






















Of course, we had to celebrate with moon cakes all around! I daringly took a nice, hearty bite after the kiddos left for the day, even though I'd been told by most that these are not entirely delicious.

They were correct. 

I quickly looked around for my co-teacher and our ayi then spit my bite into a napkin and buried my festive moon cake in the trash!    

I was to have celebrated by taking a train to Beijing, hike, and camp on the Great Wall. Sadly, I had to cancel and spend the weekend pretending to be an introvert once again. At least the view from my apartment this evening wasn't too shabby!