SAM Mid Autumn Festival

Posted by Beatrice Yip (Singapore Association of Monash) on 16 October 2018

Members gather to celebrate cultural traditions through activities like lantern making and trivia sessions!

On the 2nd October, about a hundred SAM members (both new and old) gathered together in anticipation of the Mid Autumn Festival celebrations held at the Learning and Teaching building.

The Mid Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. This usually falls in the month of September to October, and when it is a full moon at night. In Chinese culture, the round moon signifies unity and togetherness in families, which was what we wanted to promote during this event. As many of our club members are Singaporeans away from home, we hoped to hold this event as a reminisce of home and a time for everyone to come together for simple activities and celebration. At the same time, we were able to involve students from other cultural backgrounds to celebrate the event with us, enabling them to learn more about the traditional activities of Mid Autumn Festival.

The event commenced at 6.30pm and concluded by 9pm. When attendees arrived, they were divided into 12 groups of 8 in which they were to mingle and work together for the activities. We first had a Lantern Making Competition to celebrate the tradition of lanterns during this festival. Groups were provided materials and instructions for lantern making, then given 30 minutes to construct and design their own lanterns. During the judging process, each group presented their lantern and were judged based on appearance, creativity and relevance to the festival theme. After this, there was a trivia session that covered fun facts about the Mid Autumn Festival: its cultural roots, significance, and evolution from ancient dynasty periods to modern day. Through these questions, there were more stories shared about the festival which kept everyone well engaged in conversation.

Overall, the event was a fun and engaging platform for members to gather and partake in festive celebrations together. SAM looks forward to holding more of such cultural events, to celebrate our cultural diversity and bring people in the community together.  

Find out more about the Singapore Association of Monash