Harvest Moon Family Day

Wei Zhou is the Marketing Manager at the Newark Museum  

Huxia Edison Dance Troupe performs at 4 pm at the Harvest Moon Family Day on September 25

 

This is the 4^th year that the Newark Museum is hosting the Harvest Moon Family Day, and this is the second most important holiday in China, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.  It’s very similar to Western culture’s Thanksgiving.   

People gather and are thankful to each other and also think about their relatives far away. One of the traditions is to taste the moon cake that is round, which symbolizes the moon and family unity.  We also taste tea, and for the adults, wine. This holiday also signifies the harvest after many months of hard working in the fields.  

My daughter Amber dressed in traditional Chinese clothing for the Newark Museum's Harvest Moon Celebration.

 

For me, this holiday is especially significant because the Museum recognizes this important time in East Asian culture.  I was born in China, and my daughter in the United States, and we look forward to this event yearly.  She enjoys making lanterns, origami animals, traditional paper-cutting, and she loves getting dressed up in the traditional Chinese clothing.  Her favorite part of the day is listening the Harvest Moon story.  

The Museum’s Harvest Moon Day is essentially a big party!  Hundreds of people attend including my friends and family, and it’s a joyful time.  For children who are descendants from Asian countries, and for families interested in learning about other cultures, it is a wonderfully, unique experience to learn about traditional East Asian customs. We invite everybody to experience this celebratory day, which involves performances, music and even a taste of moon cakes and a sip of tea!  

For more information about the Newark Museum, visit newarkmuseum.org.