Chinese Embassy Hosts Mid-Autumn Festival Youth Open Day
By Max A. Konneh, Member, SISLAA
FREETOWN, Sept. 25th (232news) — The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is a major harvest celebration in Chinese and other Asian cultures. The festival honours family reunion and celebrates the full moon, traditionally regarded as a symbol of togetherness and prosperity. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, usually in September or early October on the Gregorian calendar.
In recognition of this historic occasion, the Chinese Embassy in Freetown organised a ceremony dubbed “Autumn Festival Youth Open Day.”
Welcoming guests to the ceremony, which was attended by members of the public, including representatives of the Sino-Sierra Leone Alumni Association (SISLAA) and youth-led organisations in the country, Third Secretary at the Embassy, Xia Tianhang, said the initiative was aimed at helping young people in Sierra Leone better understand Chinese culture.
He described the ceremony as the “second family reunion programme” organised by the Embassy, apart from the annual Dragon Boat Festival.
He thanked the guests for what he described as an impressive turnout, saying, “Even though Sierra Leone and China are separated by distance, the bond of friendship between the two countries continues.”
Vice President of SISLAA, Foday Nangai, expressed his joy at being part of the programme and thanked the Embassy staff for the initiative. He added that the event was not entirely new to members of SISLAA who had studied in China.
According to Nangai, the ceremony would not only help promote family reunion and strengthen the existing cordial relationship between China and Sierra Leone, but would also provide an opportunity for participants to learn about and preserve cultural traditions.
He expressed his association’s desire to replicate the initiative for other members of the public and appealed for more programmes of this nature.
Other highlights of the ceremony included a video presentation, goodwill messages from the President of the National Union of Sierra Leone Students (NUSS) and the President of the Peace Society, FBC, as well as presentations of thought-provoking poems written by renowned Chinese poets and philosophers.
The programme also featured a short practical training session on the production of mooncakes.
