The Lost Chinese Festival

Festivals are manifestation of culture. China has many interesting traditional festivals, my favorite is Mid-Autumn Festival. When I was in China, it was a special day to eat moon cakes, and have a family reunion. One year ago, my family immigrated to the U.S., which has different traditional way of celebrating. As a result, our lives has changed, and we have lost the Mid-Autumn Festival. As my family began another life and began fitting into different culture, some of our original culture has gotten lost in the transition.

            I really miss the traditional Chinese moon cake, which is a special desert only for Mid-

Autumn Festival. The United States also has Chinese moon cakes, and many stores in Chinatown will sell them when Mid-Autumn Festival is coming. However, when I eat a bite of it, it still makes me miss Chinese moon cake. In China, there are more kinds of moon cake which are not available in the U.S., and their taste is better. Also, I used to make moon cakes in China. Homemade food is more delicious than anything. After I arrived in the U.S., I no longer made moon cakes. One of the reasons is there are not enough ingredients here. Another reason is my American life because now my most of time is used for studying and working. After I finish that, I am tired, and do not like to spend time making moon cakes anymore. Without the traditional moon cake, my Mid-Autumn Festival loses the taste, it is not sweet as before.             

            Not only has my favorite moon cake was changed, so has my family meal. Before my family came to the U.S., my mother would prepare a great dinner for Mid-Autumn Festival because this Festival was a day for family reunions. Chinese people are accustomed to having a dinner to make family reunion. In the U.S., our Mid-Autumn Festival dinner has become very simple. It is like our daily supper. The U.S. does not have a vacation for Mid-Autumn Festival, so my mother has to go to work on that day. After a whole day of work, she cannot have enough time to prepare a great dinner for my family. In fact, our family will not ever make a reunion in Mid-Autumn Festival because it seems Mid-Autumn Festival is not important here. We cannot deeply feel the holiday here, so we have a simple day with our new American Mid-Autumn Festival.

Besides eating special food and family reunions, one of most important things in Mid-Autumn Festival is worship. Chinese people like to view the Mid-Autumn moon, which is the harvest moon and the biggest moon of the whole year. At the same time, they will make worship to give thanks to the harvest. Many people will go out of the houses where they can see the moon, burn incense, and put the sacrifices under the moon to make worship. That is a complicated process. For our new life in Chicago, my family no longer practices this part of the tradition. My family has decided to fit into some of American culture, and does not care about the ancient customs. We have chosen to forget some complicated traditions, or make them simple.

            When life is changed, thoughts are changed, and some of traditions are lost. As I eat a humbugger, enjoy the Christmas Day, and walk on the Michigan Avenue, I am not an original Chinese person anymore, and my cultural identity has been changed. As I try to fit into American life, it means that I will lose a few Chinese customs, but I have to do that. This means that I need to keep a simple, very simple Mid-Autumn Festival. The longer I live in the U.S., the more I realize that I just need to let some things go. It is enough that I remember how the Mid-Autumn were while I was growing up.