Mid-A*tumn M**n Festival

Thursday was the Mid-A*tumn M**n Festival, a Ch*nese holiday that falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year.  The ancient story of the festival involves 10 suns; an accomplished archer, Hou Yi, who was asked to shoot nine of them from the sky; his wife Chang E; a magic pill that lifted her to the moon and transformed her into the M**n Fairy; and her pet rabbit, who became the Jade R*bbit that keeps her company there.

In past years, we've enjoyed marking the holiday at a mid-day picnic with our La Cr*sse Area Ch*nese Association family.  This year, we had planned to join the local Families with Ch*ldren from Ch*na group for an outdoor celebration in the evening at a local state park. 

We were excited to go, but two days before, I learned of a celebration at the local women's college, sponsored by their Ch*nese student organization.  It promised m**n cakes and entertainment, and we thought it might be more valuable for Sarah to spend time with young women from her birth country instead of fellow adoptive families.  When rain was forecast, our decision was made.

Sarah looked forward to the evening all day, even though she had a crummy cold.  She decided to wear one of her Ch*nese outfits and asked me to wear the jacket I bought in Ch*na (which I wear every Ch*nese New Year). 

We arrived at the college student center and were directed to a very long line winding out of a conference room and into the hall and made up mostly of young women who appeared to be from China.  Sarah quickly observed, "I'm the only kid here."  I'm sure Don was thinking, "I'm the only man here."  I was feeling a little self-conscious in our Ch*nese attire, as everyone else was dressed in street clothes.

After about 15 minutes, we reached the room and were treated to slices of m**n cake (I chose the red bean paste, since it's my favorite) and dumplings (Sarah was thrilled).  One of the young women serving the dumplings said, "You two look great!" which bolstered my confidence a bit.  Don found us seats, and Sarah downed my dumpling and hers, even though she'd had a good dinner.

The show began a few minutes later and included a re-enactment of the M**n Festival legend and songs, poems, and modern dance, all with a moon theme.  Sarah was fascinated by so many exuberant young women who looked like her.  She pointed out a few to me saying, "I like her."  She asked if they all came from Ch*na.  I said I didn't know and tried to explain that they could be from Ch*na, or their parents came from Ch*na to the Un*ted St*tes and they were born here, or they may have been adopted from Ch*na, like her.

It was a long presentation, and Sarah really wasn't feeling her best, so after an hour or so, she said she was ready to go home.  She was very excited to be out and about after dark. 

I was glad we'd chosen that event.  I always love being among Ch*nese people, and it was wonderful to see so many role models for Sarah.  I told her maybe she could go to college there when she's older.  If, that is, she changes her mind about becoming an instruction (read "construction") worker, and she gets lots of scholarships.