On Friday, September 13, the Chinese Club hosted its annual Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner. The Mid-Autumn Festival is regarded as one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture.
In hopes to teach students about Chinese culture and for Chinese students who weren’t able to go home and celebrate the national holiday with their family, the Chinese Club organized the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner. Abby Lu ’22, a cabinet member of the Chinese Club, said, “We hosted the event because we wanted something that will show people a fun side of Chinese culture.”
Chinese Club President Jayden Khuu ’21 said, “Because the festival is traditionally a gathering for family, gathering with friends at school may help bring Choate closer to the concept of family for many students. I hope that by this event students gained friendship and a sense of community and belonging, as well as more insight into Chinese culture.” He hopes that this dinner reminded students of family and home, reinforcing the idea that they have a family here at Choate, too.
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner at Choate is hosted annually by the Chinese Club, the 2019 event showed an unprecedented turnout rate. “I think it went really well; in fact, at the peak, there were no less than 90 people,” said Lu. “It was great to see people show up for food and for each other because it was heartwarming. ”
As many people were present at the dinner, organizers aimed to be environmentally friendly. Two weeks prior to the dinner, the club reached out to the Director of Student Activities Ms. Alex Long so that the school’s blue reusable PreserveWare could be ready for use.
“The event ran really smoothly thanks to the teamwork of the Chinese [Club] cabinet and the volunteering of other Chinese Club members,” Khuu noted. The event was funded entirely by the Chinese phone case sale from last year. Khuu expressed gratitude for the community, adding that community support “has allowed this event to happen.”
