What is the Mooncake Festival?
On Tuesday, 17th September, New Zealand celebrated the annual Mooncake Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditionally observed on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar, this festival symbolises reunion and togetherness. It’s the second most significant festival in China after Chinese New Year and has been celebrated for over 2,000 years.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for families to come together, share a reunion meal, and enjoy mooncakes—a pastry traditionally filled with sweet red beans or lotus seed paste, though modern flavours such as chocolate, matcha, and even ice cream have become popular. The full moon is considered a symbol of harmony and unity, and the moon at this time is believed to be at its brightest, aligning with the harvest season.
In keeping with the spirit of the festival, Yatchun, our Managing Director, gifted staff with traditional mooncakes to honour their hard work and dedication. The sense of community and celebration extended to all members of Pistachio Mandarin, with parents, students, and staff enjoying the festivities together.
How we celebrated the Mooncake Festival at Pistachio
At Pistachio Mandarin Language Centre, we strive to immerse our students in authentic Chinese culture while they learn Mandarin. On 21st September, we celebrated the Mooncake Festival with a variety of fun activities that allowed our students and their families to experience the cultural richness of this important festival. In class, we took the opportunity to educate our students on the cultural significance of the Mooncake Festival by incorporating engaging multimedia into their learning experience. One of the ways we achieved this was by showing two carefully selected videos that deepened their understanding of this rich tradition.
The first video shared the legend of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess, whose story is at the heart of the festival. Students learned how Hou Yi, a heroic archer, was separated from his beloved wife, Chang’e, who ascended to the moon. Today, people around the world honour her memory by worshipping the moon and sharing mooncakes.
The second video took students on a journey to rural China, showing traditional customs like moon altars and communal feasts, as well as modern-day celebrations in Beijing where restaurant workers, unable to travel home, gather for a family-style dinner. These visual stories gave students an immersive understanding of how the festival is celebrated in different regions.
Sounds interesting? Watch the videos below to dive deeper into the magic of the Mid-Autumn Festival!
We then kicked off the celebrations by encouraging our young learners to create rabbit and mooncake-themed artwork inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology, who is often depicted with a rabbit. The children worked on their crafts at home, and we held a competition to judge the most creative pieces. We invited parents to join us in judging the children’s artwork, creating a wonderful opportunity for families to learn more about the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese culture while being actively involved in their children’s Mandarin learning journey.
Check out the video below to see the top winners from our Mooncake Festival craft competition!
After celebrating our top 3 winners from each class, we wanted to ensure that all our students felt recognised for their creativity and effort. The winners took home marker packs and colouring books, while the rest of the children, who also put in their best effort, were rewarded with other mini prizes. Incorporating fun and recognition into our culture at Pistachio is important to us, and we believe that every student’s contribution deserves to be recognised, reflecting the diverse, inclusive and joyful spirit of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Take a look at our top winners from the competition in the video below!
Our company ethos is rooted in providing not just language skills but also cultural experiences that deepen our students’ understanding of the Mandarin-speaking world. Celebrating events like the Mid-Autumn Festival is just one of the many ways we bring Mandarin learning to life for our students and their families.
Want to join in the fun? At Pistachio Mandarin, we offer more than just language lessons—we bring Chinese culture to life. Sign up for our Mandarin classes today and be part of our next exciting cultural celebration!