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Description

Celebrate zhōng qiū jié - Mid Autumn Festival in China by learning some Mandarin, having a go at writing, learning the story of Chang E and making some pretend mooncakes. You can even have a go at picking things up using chopsticks!

Resources

Printed/drawn Chinese phrases to copy
Paper, paint brushes or pens, paint
Playdough/salt dough, mooncake press (or just use toothpicks to draw a design into the top)
Chopsticks and tuff tray with pom poms/small objects. You can get child friendly chopsticks that are attached at the top.
Paper to make lanterns, scissors (Or have lanterns pre cut) tape

Instructions

Learn a greeting phrase: 中秋快乐 Zhōng qiū kuài lè

Mid-Autumn Festival is a special day in China in autumn. It's on month 8 day 15 of the moon calendar in China. That day is always in September or near the start of October. in 2026 it is Friday 25th September, 2027 Weds 15th September and 2028 Weds 3rd October.

So what is the Mid-Autumn Festival? It's the day of the harvest moon. On that day the moon is full and bright. Mid-Autumn Festival is an important old festival in China. It's for people to enjoy a happy family time, like Christmas, Easter, Eid or Diwali. Families cook delicious food and enjoy a happy family dinner. Can you think of a yummy dinner you like to eat with your family?

Like at Christmas we have Christmas cake, mooncakes are a special and important food to eat during Mid-Autumn Festival. It's round like a full moon and they have writing or pictures on the top of them.
Some people call the festival Mooncake Festival. Mooncakes are round and coated in pastry. Inside there is a variety of fillings, some mooncakes have lotus seed paste, some have red bean paste or a round salted egg yolk to symbolise the full moon. Can you think of any round foods you like?

Learn a greeting phrase and practice writing in Mandarin: 中秋快乐 Zhōng qiū kuài lè
Learn how to say hello: Nǐ hǎo (hello) 你好
goodbye 再见 is zàijiàn
wǒ jiào is my name is.. So you could say Wo jiao Kayla.

Chinese Words: 月饼 (yuè bǐng) – moon cake
月兔 (yuè tù) – Moon rabbit
嫦娥 (cháng'é) – Chang'e (the Chinese goddess of the Moon)
灯笼 (dēnglong) – Chinese lantern
赏月(shǎng yuè) – Moon watching
中秋节 (zhōng qiū jié) – Mid-Autumn Festival

We are going to have a go at writing in Chinese.
Resources: pre drawn/printed simple phrases for different abilities, such as numbers (super easy!) and then the greeting phrase for those who might like a challenge.

One of the best-known myths about the Mid-Autumn Festival is of Chang E, the Chinese goddess of the moon. The story goes that Chang E‘s husband, the great archer Hou Yi, had been gifted an elixir of life as a reward for shooting down nine of the ten suns that had been causing such extreme heat and danger to the population. On August 15 of the Chinese lunar calendar, whilst Yi was away from home, his apprentice Peng Meng tried to force Chang E to give him the elixir. Chang E refused and instead swallowed it herself. When Yi came back later in the day, he found that Chang E had flown to the moon, all alone. Devastated, he set about offering sacrifices to the moon to remember his wife, and this is said to be the reason people make mooncakes and offerings on the 15th day of the eighth month. Chang E has a companion called the moon rabbit, or jade rabbit, so rabbits will often be seen on mooncakes or pictures.

Activities:

-Make a paper lantern or 灯笼 dēnglong. The lanterns symbolise the bright light of the full moon. Children carry the lanterns which are often yellow or red (red is a lucky colour in China).

-We are going to make playdough mooncakes using a Mooncake mould. Shape your playdough into a round shape and use the press to add a beautiful design. We could use salt dough or air dry clay instead of playdough as then it will dry and they can keep it/take it home.

Finish: Can anyone remember any Chinese words from today? Let's finish by saying goodbye in Chinese. Zai jian!

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