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Yalies celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival Throughout the week, several Yale cultural groups celebrated this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes, lanterns, and calligraphy. Words by Jerry Gao.

Over the past week, Asian cultural groups and language programs across Yale celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Chuseok or Hangawi in Korean and Tết Trung Thu in Vietnamese. The holiday is traditionally celebrated during the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which coincides with a full moon.

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival was on Sept. 17.

Students drinking tea while celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday, Sept. 16. Photo courtesy of Kaiyuan Tang.

On Sept. 16, the Chinese Language and Career Initiative, Ancient Chinese Traditions Club and the Yale Chinese Language Program jointly held an event at Davenport College common room.

Yale Chinese Language Program coordinator Fan Liu told the News that a student in her Chinese class was moved to tears when tasting a mooncake, surprised at the existence of Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations at Yale.

“It doesn’t matter where you are from, the moment when eating a mooncake we think about the same culture, traditions, history and family,” Liu told the News in Mandarin.

Photos by Jerry Gao, Contributing Photographer.

Anna Zhao ’25, president of the Ancient Chinese Traditions Club and liaison for the Chinese Language and Career Initiative, told the News about the high enthusiasm for the event this year and the potential for more activities in the future.

Lindan Hu, founder and owner of Lindan’s Tea Space, provided tea and performed traditional tea ceremonies at the event with her students.

“We hope to teach others about tea culture, that’s why we are teaching students [tea ceremonies] for free as a way to benefit the community,” Hu told the News in Mandarin.

Former Chinese Language Program coordinator Rongzhen Li told the News in Mandarin that first-year students often feel homesick. Referring to the numerous activities at the event, Li said that students could experience traditions away from home.

Students attending the event praised the event’s authenticity. Sophie Yi ’28, an international student from Beijing, China, mentioned the scale of the event was larger than her family’s celebrations at home.

Malachai York ’28, who attended the event and won a Chinese Language Program sticker from the raffle at the event, learned about the celebrations from his Chinese course. York praised the mooncakes and tea served at the event.

“The mooncakes are great, tea is great, two things I love. What’s wrong about that?” he said.

The Vietnam Students Association celebrated Tết Trung Thu with mooncakes and paper lantern making on Tuesday evening. A loudspeaker at the event played both traditional Mid-Autumn Festival songs as well as V-pop.

Matthew Tran ’26 recalled lion dances and huge tents celebrating the festival at home. Despite the smaller scale, Tran appreciates the cultural connections of the event.

“It’s a nice way to connect. It’s a nice reminder of the season,” Tran told the News.

Students celebrating Tết Trung Thu near the Asian American Cultural Center on Sep. 17.

Referring to the paper lantern-making activity at the event, Kelly Tran ’27 recalled the paper lanterns as an annual tradition where children would walk around and inside the house as a welcome of a new season.

Jerry Gao, Contributing Photographer.

On Sept. 20, the Yale Korean Language Program held a celebration with traditional rice cakes, brush calligraphy practice and post-card making. Angela Lee-Smith, program coordinator for the Yale Korean Language Program, described Hangawi as “Korean Thanksgiving.” She emphasized the openness and unity the event brings.

“Not only students who are taking Korean languages but also all their friends and then the seniors and then junior students and alumni and faculty, they all come together. We become one and we welcome everyone,” Lee-Smith said in an interview with the News.

Photos by Jerry Gao, Contributing Photographer.

On Sept. 22, the Korean American Students at Yale celebrated Chuseok with freshly made rice desserts. Students used hammers to break down sticky rice into a dough.

Jerry Gao, Contributing Photographer.

Lawrence Zhao ’26, who attended the activities on Sunday, told the News his interpretation of the significance of the festival.

“The whole idea is everyone’s looking at the same moon, right? So, you’re all kind of together,” Zhao said.

Harkness Tower under a full moon. Yolanda Wang, Contributing Photographer.

The next Mid-Autumn Festival will occur on Oct. 6, 2025.

Contact Jerry Gao at jerry.gao.jh2988@yale.edu.

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