August 15th
No
matter in which country or on which continent, holidays are cheerful, expectant
and excited. However, every holiday must belong to its native
country. Mid Autumn Festival is one of the four important holidays occurring
in the lunar calendar in China. It is a wonderful holiday that celebrates the
blessedness of family. There are many traditional elements of celebrating it
like moon cakes, handmade dim sum, and lanterns. Chinese people always wait for
the full moon to bless the family and eat moon cakes under the full moon all
together on Mid Autumn Festival. Nonetheless, a traditional Chinese holiday
like the Mid Autumn Festival is not as popular as any American holidays in the
United States. I can’t celebrate this unique holiday or bless my family, so the
real meaning of the holiday is missing while the holiday is unconsidered.
As a Chinese
immigrant, I can’t have a complete Mid Autumn Festival experience in U.S.
A real Mid Autumn Festival, which the Chinese always celebrate on August
15th, was extremely interesting when I was in China. I enjoyed
the tender moon light, I played with the quaint paper lantern, and I ate traditional holiday food and the
yummy moon cakes. Moon cakes are round and thick made out of flour with plenty
of different sweet and tasty favor inside; and it is the stereo typical symbolic
food for Mid Autumn Festival in the alien’s mind. However, that is not enough
for a real Chinese person. I always had some complicated handmade dim sum and
the particular seafood with the special spice to bless and to celebrate the
holiday, which is impossible to find or see any in the U.S. A basic step to
celebrate the August 15th in US is as tough as to unfold a coconut
with a naked hand. Now, it is which can cause me to be homesick.
Nowadays,
the Chinese immigrants who live in U.S. are getting westernized and almost
forget the meaning of the August 15th. This is not an America
holiday, so Chinese won’t get a day off unless they plan or ask their boss. Most
Chinese simplify the holiday or don’t celebrate it because they are busy; also,
the Chinese who were born in U.S. have not properly learned about this event at
all. Once time flies, the significance of August 15th likes a bottle
of perfume without a lid, vanishing soundlessly. Chinese in U.S. only eat moon
cakes for August 15th or they ignored it sometimes. For the ABC
(America born Chinese), Christmas day is more important than the August 15th.
They don’t know August 15th expresses best wish for their
family. Chinese in U.S. treat the Mid Autumn Festival completely differently
from the Chinese who came from China.
Finally,
to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival with my grandmother in the U.S.
is like to win a jackpot without buying a lottery ticket. As I get older, I can’t
find any memory for this holiday, and I have already forgotten how to really
celebrate this day in U.S. My family might work or might go to school on August
15th, and it is always hard to gather all my relatives in a group. The
holiday feels odd is because my grandmother is not in U.S. She is the one who
gave us the most precious memory about the Mid Autumn Festival and taught us
how to be a real person to contribute to my family. I cannot celebrate or bless
the honored person on Mid Autumn Festival in the U.S. which creates a hole in our
heart.
A holiday is sometimes not only a holiday
when it means something important for someone or a group of people. No matter
how fantastic the other holidays are, August 15th is the only
holiday really to live in my mind. To enjoy the Mid Autumn Festival in the U.S.
as I did in China is like to telling a day dream to others. It is utterly ridiculous.
I profoundly hope this new culture doesn‘t wipe my tradition away. Even though
August 15th in the U.S. will never match the festivities in China, I
will continue to celebrate it with my family.
Mid Autumn Festival is my favorite festival. During that day, I like to set off firework, play lantern or play Kong ming lantern. Importantly, I have a reunion dinner with my family. Even though now I am in Chicago, I eat supper dinner with family yet. I feel thankful.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really awesome. You are lucky to cerebrate your lovely Mid Autume day in Chicago with your family. Now, I almost forget how to burn my paper lantern on Mid Autume day. I really want a complete August 15th.
DeleteIt sound a good holiday. For celebrating it you student you may have half day off from school, but if you work you can ask your boss a month earlier, so you can celebrate it in good way because it seem you have good holiday. About the Chines who born here the family have to tell the what is about and the meaning of it, so can can celebrate it as the parents culture.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you are right. However, the atmosphere of the holiday is totally different between two different countries. The unlike culture cause a lot of difference in the holidays.
DeleteEvery country has their own holiday, and it's hard to celebrate once you're not in your country. I wrote about Korean Holidays in my essay saying that I miss them a lot and hate the fact that I can't enjoy them here. As you said, Holiday means more than just celebrating. Since today's society makes people have less time to spend time with their families, holidays are invaluable chances for reunion. One day I might get used to the American cultures, but I will never forget my great days in Korea.
ReplyDeleteHolidays are the common things which we have lost in the transition. As you said, I might forget the way to celebrate my precious holidays. I am going to lose them. However, I won't forget them, I will keep them in my mind. Celebrating just a way to empress how much I love the holidays.
DeleteIt have exactly the same holidays in Vietnam. My country also celebrate this holiday as a big holiday. I remembered the most interesting part of this holiday when I was young was paper lanterns. They were so beautiful and colorful in night. :))
ReplyDeleteReally? That sounds great because we have a some topic. lol...I really loved the paper lanterns when I celebrated this holiday in China. This is one of my favorite holidays.
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ReplyDeleteYes, it is a very important holiday in China, and I think the most exciting thing is sometimes Mid-Autumn Festival and National Holiday in the same week. We can have one week off, like this year. My friends who live in China got together and went to travel. That was so wonderful!
I want to long vacation to celebrate my lovely holiday, too. Lots of my friends had fun on Mid-Autumn Festival expect me. That's so splendid to celebrate our own holiday in own our tradition.
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