CULTURE SHARE: The Grenchus Foundation @ Gracie Mansion: Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
The Grenchus Foundation @ Gracie Mansion: Mid-Autumn Moon Festival …..
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese and Asian culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.
In Chinese and Asian culture, the full moon is the symbol of family reunions. Hence the moon on the night of the mid-autumn festival is believed to be the brightest and the most beautiful, which should be celebrated as a lunar festival.
Being the second most important festival in Chinese and Asian culture, the Moon cake festival is celebrated with dinners hosted, worshiping the moon, enjoying moon cakes (cakes mostly baked in the shape of the moon), and family reunions at the table outside homes to admire a full moon. The sky lights up with colorful paper lanterns on the moon cake festival as people will enjoy this moon holiday schedule for three consecutive days. Moon cakes specially baked on this harvest festival represent the mid-autumn festival’s food due to their circular shape and sweet flavors. Traditionally, the cakes had red beans or lotus seed paste filling. However, with modernization, mooncakes can be sourced from markets well-in-advance in unique flavors such as ice cream and chocolate shaped in various forms….
Please find below some of our photos from the events…I was joined by journalist and film producer Hsuan Yu Pan. Originally from Taiwan, documentary filmmaker Hsuan Yu Pan has been exploring human stories through her lens for over a decade. Her documentary short “My Mother’s Table”, about the Syrian refugee crisis, was selected at the 2020 American Documentary Film Festival. She is currently working on a project about immigration during COVID and now Ukrainian Stories with the War In Ukraine. Check out her site here: panvideo.net
I also spoke with the Immigration office in detail and the Founders of Miss Immigrant USA! The Cathay Adult Day Care Center also joined in the festivities! I have also included some of the amazing views from close by!
Thank you to Michael Hallenbeck Photography for his photography during our outing!
Thank you Mayor Adams for hosting this Cultural Event!
