Tonight: Celebrate Confucius’s birthday in style at the Moon Festival

The Augusta University Confucius Institute will host its annual Moon Festival and CI Day celebration event on Wednesday, Sep. 21 from 7-8 p.m. in the JSAC Ballroom.

Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the traditional Chinese Moon Festival is held every year on the 15^th day of the eighth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The festival has been described by some as a sort of “Chinese Thanksgiving,” focusing on themes of family, friendship and communal gathering.

Once again, this year’s Moon Festival coincides with “Confucius Institute Day,” a celebration of both the founding of Confucius Institutes across the world as well as the birth of the institutions’ namesake, Confucius himself.

To celebrate, the Confucius Institute will feature several Chinese cultural activities, including a Lion Dance, a Kung Fu Demonstration, a tea ceremony and a moon cake tasting. Free Chinese lanterns and light sticks will be provided.

The Moon Festival and CI Day celebration event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Yilin Lou at 706-721-8399 or ylou@augusta.edu.