News-Letter

The Chinese Students & Scholars Association (CSSA) and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes joined hands with 12 other universities and schools to co-sponsor the 55th Chinese National Day and Moon Festival last Sunday evening.

A dance party in the Glass Pavilion followed the event.

Traditionally, the Moon Festival is held on Aug. 15 of the Lunar Calendar, which coincides this year with Sept. 28 on the standard calendar.

The Moon Festival is a time of celebration among the Chinese, when friends and family watch special performances and eat "moon cake."

A round pastry with sweet filling inside, the moon cake has been an integral part of festival celebrations since its role in overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty in 1368.

Chinese leaders, unhappy with Yuan rule, decided to have special cakes made that contained slips of paper inside outlining the details of the rebellion.

During that year's Moon Festival, people read the message inside their cakes and successfully overthrew the Yuan government.

In memory of their accomplishment, the moon cake is traditionally eaten every year during the Moon Festival.

This year, lottery and game winners were awarded boxes of moon cake to take home to their families.

The CSSA decided to co-sponsor the Moon Festival with 13 other institutions to bring together students and Chinese communities from around the Baltimore-Washington Area.

Some of the institutions included Georgetown University, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Delaware, Towson University and many more.

In addition, about 20 members of the Chinese Embassy were invited to attend as honorary guests and performers.

"I think that by getting so many universities and organizations together, there is a sense of unity," said Weina Hou, one of the co-hosts and student coordinators of the Moon Festival

Hou explained that the festival signifies a time for families to celebrate together.

"The Moon Festival is generally a festival to unite loved ones, so it seemed especially appropriate to have many universities and organizations come and celebrate together," Hou said.

The evening began with a patriotic introduction from a representative of the Chinese Embassy.

The display was then followed by a lively dragon dance performed by the Jow Ga Kung Fu Athletic Association.

In the performance, a shiny red dragon entered from the back of the auditorium, chasing a bright yellow ball onto the stage, where it danced in a circular motion, reminiscent of the full moon.

Other cultural performances included the Qi Pao Show.

The show included an exhibit of articles of traditional Chinese clothing, which were modeled by the Chinese Moon Student Model Team.

The 18 Qi-Pao styles ranged from very traditional to very modern, some accessorized with traditional Chinese fans.

Ralph Lauren and Christian Dior have been known to incorporate elements of the Qi Pao into their own clothing lines.

The Washington Chinese Choir presented a traditional musical performance.

The music was conducted by Jin Fu Zai, a Chinese composer from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Weina Hou noted that aside from traditional Chinese acts, this year's festival reached out to non-Chinese audiences with Latin and Indian dance.

The CSSA made the show English-speaker-friendly by including English translations in all of the spoken and visual introductions.

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