This year, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival falls on September 15. It is a day of Thanksgiving and gratitude for the Chinese, when families reunite and give thanks for the harvest and family unity. It falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month (in September or October) when the moon is bright and full in the sky. They celebrate by joining together to look at the moon in the evening as they chat and visit. They eat moon cakes and a few other delicious treats, while sharing old legends of the Jade Rabbit and Chang’e that make up some of the Moon Festival traditions.
Although we don’t celebrate in authentic Chinese style, we do acknowledge the Moon Festival in our own way, including lots of reading! I’ve added a few new books to my Moon Festival library this year, including We See the Moon, a beautifully-illustrated adoption book that addresses questions from a child’s perspective.
Reading this book during Moon Festival celebrations is a fantastic way to open meaningful dialogue about our children’s first families. And it’s a great reminder that we are all gazing upon the same moon, no matter where we are. I’ve always grouped it with our adoption book library, but it’s a wonderful addition for Mid-Autumn Moon Festival too!
Zhong qiu kuai le, my friends!
