On September 29, VSU celebrated one of the most famous and beloved Chinese holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节).
There are many traditions, legends, and symbols associated with this event. The date of the celebration is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar: on the 15th day of the 8th month. In 2023, the Mid-Autumn Festival was on September 29.
The idea of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to unite with family and friends: people who have not seen each other for a long time come together for a family dinner (团圆饭), they talk and admire the moon, a symbol of harmony and family happiness.
VSU students studying Chinese under the additional programme “Third Foreign Language”, their teachers Su Guifang, Guan Wei Yun, and Danila Znatkov, members of the Department of Translation and Professional Communication, as well as students from Qingdao, Shandong Province, gathered together to praise the Chinese culture, enjoy the event, and, of course, taste moon gingerbread (月饼), one of the main features of this holiday.
“Our evening was truly memorable, everyone had fun, Russian and Chinese students read poems about the moon, played traditional games, sang Chinese songs, tasted moon gingerbread, made of lotus grains and sesame seeds. Everyone returned home not just with good memories, but also with lovely souvenirs. “This day allowed the students learning Chinese to get to know the culture of the country better and to celebrate this amazing day, even away from the Celestial Empire,” said Angelina Shumlina, a 4th year student.
“The holiday turned out to be wonderful! An impressive feature of the event was the defile of the participants in traditional Chinese dresses, qipao. I would like such events to be held at our university more often, because it is a great opportunity to learn Chinese language and culture of the people speaking it. This evening we felt like we were a small part of China in our classroom,” said Olga Olkhovatskaya, a 4th year student.
