Mandarin and Mooncakes
The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is a meaningful and significant event held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when the moon is brightest. Also known as the Moon or Mooncake Festival, celebrants give thanks for the recent harvest and share mooncakes with family and friends.
Zhaohong Wen’s Mandarin classes learned the art of making mooncakes, which are finely decorated treats made of bean paste, egg yolks, and flavorful ingredients that invoke the season. Students made precise measurements of the doughy fillings and wrappings, formed the cakes and then used a press to emboss a decoration on each cake.
The class then watched traditional songs and shadow dance performances while sipping tea and tasting their creations. Ms. Wen taught her Mandarin speakers traditional holiday greetings to share over the three-day festival.
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