The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Reunion Festival, is one of the four major festivals in China. There is a custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. As the saying goes: "August the 15th the moon is full,Mid-Autumn moon cakes are fragrant and sweet. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival, in addition to organizing activities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with students, the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam also organized teachers to celebrate the festival together. Chinese teachers made moon cakes and sent moon cakes and Mid-Autumn blessings to local faculty and staff.
On September 26, local time, the teachers of the Confucius Institute made moon cakes together at their residence. Teacher Zhang Linfang first explained to everyone the process of making moon cakes and demonstrated step by step. Everyone gathered around a table and worked together to knead the dough, pack the stuffing, put it into the mold and press it into shape... Seeing the exquisite moon cakes forming, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment. Afterwards, the teachers tasted moon cakes, shared Mid-Autumn Festival stories, exchanged feelings of homesickness, and celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival together.
Recently, Chinese teachers sent moon cakes and blessings to local faculty members of the Confucius Institute to share their Mid-Autumn Festival reunion with them. Local Chinese teacher Shariph Rashid Matumbi said that although there is no Mid-Autumn Festival in Tanzania, we also hope to reunite with our family during various festivals. Although the customs are different, our feelings are the same. The Chinese teachers are in Tanzania and cannot be with their families, but here, we are your family.
This activity not only deepened the local staff’s understanding of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but also enhanced the friendship between Chinese teachers and local staff.
Teachers and workers of Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es salaam celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival together, using moon cakes to express the feelings of missing their hometown and loved ones. During the holiday season, and the situation of the epidemic is still uncertain, everyone is especially looking forward to a peaceful reunion this Mid-Autumn Festival. Here, we sincerely wish all overseas Chinese teachers and volunteers a long life and a happy life together.
