Upper School Mandarin Teacher Jingjing Lai and Upper School World Language Fellow Mikki Zong
St. Luke’s Mandarin classes celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. Also called the Moon Festival, this event takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar when the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest. It is one of the most important festivals for Chinese people.
With reunions at the heart of the celebration, families eat, drink tea, and play games together. The round mooncake is the main dessert for this festival, its shape symbolizing togetherness and completeness. Making and sharing mooncakes is an important cultural practice that brings together families and friends.
As the festival approached, Upper School Mandarin students in our classes celebrated the festival by making Oreo mooncakes, playing festival-related games, and writing holiday cards in Chinese.
The hands-on mooncake project allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and the festival's significance while providing practical application of their Mandarin skills, allowing them to speak and read in the language. This activity also helped promote cultural sensitivity and global understanding by encouraging students to make cross-cultural comparisons and appreciate the importance of traditions and family values.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.