Mon Sep 23 21:30:00 UTC 2024: ## Chinese Community in Newfoundland Celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival

**St. John’s, NL** – The Chinese community in Newfoundland and Labrador celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, on Saturday with a special event in St. John’s. The festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, is a time for family gatherings, feasts, and mooncakes.

Francis Tam, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chinese Association, explained that the festival is about togetherness, similar to Thanksgiving, and honors the moon and the moon goddess, Chang’e. The event was open to the public, allowing the Chinese community to share their traditions and make new connections.

For international students at Memorial University, the festival brought a sense of home and community. Lu Qiao, from Shanghai, expressed her appreciation for the event, saying, “I feel lonely because I don’t know how to celebrate. Also, my family is not here as well. So we have the festival right now here, and I feel like it’s so appreciated because we can celebrate together.”

The event featured a DIY mooncake station, where attendees could try their hand at making the traditional pastry, and a tasting area where they could sample various mooncake flavors. Mooncakes, with their intricate designs and sweet or savory fillings, are a highlight of the festival.

Zhibing Yang, a participant in the event, spoke about the deeper meaning behind the mooncakes. “Families will split mooncakes to represent togetherness. It’s also common to make wishes as you eat them,” he explained.

Even though they were far from home, participants felt a sense of connection by looking at the same moon and sharing their thoughts and wishes with family and friends. The Mid-Autumn Festival provided a unique opportunity for the Chinese community in Newfoundland to celebrate their traditions and build connections within the wider community.

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