Culture Celebrated at Chinese Moon Festival

The sun was still perched low in the sky around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, but within 15 minutes the full moon took its place and cast its pale blue light down on the festivities below, initiating the beginning of the Chinese Moon Festival. The Chinese Moon Festival is a traditional Chinese celebration that annually occurs on the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, in which people of different ethnicities and cultures celebrate Chinese culture and traditions relating to Chinese worship and appreciation of the moon. The Chinese Moon Festival is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival and is a traditional Chinese celebration that dates back to the Tang Dynasty. The night is celebrated every year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month in the Chinese calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest of the year. The festival, this year the 10th annual celebration, was put on in partnership with the Riversides Hua Xia Chinese School and the Riverside Astronomical Society featured an assortment of activities for visitors to participate in. A Heritage House, with a Victorian-era theme and owned by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, promoted the importance and appreciation of diversity and history. A citrus station located just a few paces away demonstrated how the Chinese cultivated their knowledge of citrus production and packaging in the United States. Joe Hamlin, who was overseeing the citrus production display, said, “Without the Chinese there would be no citrus industry in California, because they are the ones who had the know-how to grow citrus.” Other activity booths focused on Chinese culture, including calligraphy stations, a booth on how to eat properly with chopsticks, a storytelling booth where traditional Chinese folktales were told, a lion dance performance, Tai Chi demonstrations, cooking demonstrations of traditional Chinese cuisine, a viewing area of various Chinese artifacts, craft stations, game stations and a station where the moon could be viewed through a high-powered telescope. Throughout the night, visitors had the chance to sample traditional Chinese foods and teas, like moon cakes and Chinese herbal tea. Rebecca Matza, who is the daughter of Heritage House performer Jo Matza, said, “The Chinese Moon Festival is supposed to be for showing people how the Chinese people used to celebrate. The moon is something that they celebrate when they name their children after nine days of birth, under the moon to show that their child is pure.” There were many students from the nearby University of California, Riverside present at the festival. After being asked about her experience in the festival, Susie Yeo, a third-year student at UCR who was attending the festival for the first time, responded, “I think it’s a really good experience; it’s a small area but they provide a lot of entertainment, a lot of crafts and activities. I think it’s really cool, especially the food.” Priyanka Khire, an international student from India, said, “We’re having fun, and it [has been] good. It was a little different.” The event will run again next year for the 11th year, bringing a little taste of China to the Inland Empire.