A week ago, the Campus Center’s Petteruti Lounge was alive with music. Students sat at tables with markers and mooncakes, decorating their own paper lanterns at the Vietnamese Student Association Tết Trung Thu, or Mid-Autumn Festival celebration.
The celebration of the fall harvest always takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar — which coincides with the full moon, or the harvest moon. This year, it fell on Sept. 25. Student groups across campus gathered to celebrate. The Herald spoke to three student group leaders about the events they hosted.
Hanh Nguyen ’28, VSA co-president, said although the festival was only a few weeks into the school year, the VSA executive board was still able to source supplies and mooncakes.
“We locked in,” Nguyen said. “We made sure to plan it out because it’s a really important event in Vietnamese culture.”
Mooncakes are a pastry that represents the harvest moon and family reunion. For the celebration, they are traditionally cut into the same number of slices as family members present.
At the event, mooncakes were stacked by flavor, ranging from red bean to lotus seed. Students chattered and sipped on cups of hot tea as they decorated paper lanterns.
Amy Nguyen ’30 said she appreciated the celebration and was able to meet “a handful of Vietnamese people (to build her) community here at Brown.”
Twenty-four hours later, the Hong Kong Student’s Association had their own Mid-Autumn Festival event at the RISD Ewing Multicultural Center.
In Hong Kong, many businesses celebrate Mid-Autumn by selling mooncakes in intricate boxes, Alysha Lai ’28 wrote in an email to The Herald.
Even from outside the small building, the liveliness of HKSA’s event was palpable as students munched on mooncakes, met new people and talked to old friends.
The Chinese Students Association’s Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 27 was hosted in the Underground as the Nor’easter hit the East Coast, but the rain could not dampen the mood.
Daniel Zhao ’27, CSA president, said the group originally planned to collaborate with the Astronomy Club again to bring a telescope to the Main Green so students could look at the full moon after the partnership was “really successful last year.” But the Nor’easter’s dreary weather led CSA to cancel those outdoor celebrations.
Still, students filed into the small space in Campus Center, face lit with smiles as they enjoyed mooncakes together.
“It’s been super lovely seeing everyone come out — even on a rainy day — to come celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival,” CSA Co-Media Chair Jessica Li ’29 said.
At HKSA’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Edwin Chen ’30 said he thinks “the most important thing about Mid-Autumn is definitely connecting with people you know, reuniting with them and eating mooncakes together.”
“The mooncakes are definitely the star of the show,” he added.
Media by Selina Kao.
