What do you usually do on the day of the important festival? Family reunion? Or dinner with friends? Students who study abroad still need to attend classes on such an important day.

Yet on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, which is one of China’s most important traditional festivals, the Mid-Autumn Festival took place on the IU campus. The IUCSSA (Indiana University Chinese Students and Scholars Association) held a Mid-Autumn Festival Garden Party at IU on Saturday of that week to make up for the fact that the Chinese Students at IU were unable to spend the holiday with their families. Instead, it was a chance to celebrate the festival with the Chinese community in Bloomington and promote Chinese culture to friends in other countries.

In the past, IUCSSA provided Chinese food for everyone to taste, but this year, due to the special situation of the epidemic,they did not provide food.

According to Tancy Cai, president of the IUCSSA, the group has organized and held big events like the Mid-autumn Festival Celebration and Chinese New Year Gala completely free of charge.

But last year, due to the epidemic, their activities moved online, which did not work well. So this year they are trying to hold events on campus without being afraid.

Cai said, “We hope that through such an event, Chinese students studying at IU can feel the warmth of home and let more friends from other countries know about Chinese culture. ”

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival and the Festival of Reunion, is a traditional Chinese festival because the moon at Mid-Autumn Festival is the roundest. Its’ homonym means reunion in Chinese so it is widely spread.

In the traditional Chinese custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people usually get together with their family and friends to eat moon cakes, enjoy the full moon, and play some traditional Chinese games in order to express their yearning for their hometown and relatives and pray for a good harvest and happiness.

In order to bring the Mid-Autumn festival atmosphere to IU, the staff of IUCSSA came to the scene at 9 a.m. and started the preparations for the activity starting at Dunn Meadow at 2 p.m.

There were many stands at the event site, which displayed various things related to China, including calligraphy, dance, photography, and music.

There were booths to provide cakes and other snacks, small gifts, and games. In addition to the students, many nearby residents and school staff also came to enjoy the festivities.

Then the stage performance began: dancing, singing, musical instruments. The atmosphere of the scene was very happy.

Anamitraa Chakraborty from India said: “It’s so fun to be here, there are so many fun games to play, the weather is beautiful, and I really enjoy very much.”

On that day, you could hear music from the lawn and people cheering happily in the distance. The 90-degree temperature didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits.

The Chinese students and Chinese friends in Bloomington also felt the warmth of home in a foreign country, and many friends from other countries also had a good time at the Mid-Autumn Festival Garden Party and learned a lot of interesting Chinese culture.