Jonathan Rhee (12) holds a Korean buchae, Oct. 7. These fans are used in traditional Buchaechum dances. Sunny Park (12) demonstrates hanging paper lanterns, Oct. 7. In China, red paper lanterns symbolize good fortune and family unity.

The musical performance from Guitar Club as lunch began, the clacking of rods from the tinikling showcase after that, and the chattering students brought life to the quad. Excited students lined up at stations circling Westview’s center to make Korean fans or Chinese paper lanterns or snow skin mooncakes. East Asian Student Union, in collaboration with eight other clubs, hosted Westview’s Mid-Autumn Festival, an East and Southeast Asian celebration of the fall harvest, Oct. 6-8.

Originating in China, the festival is based on the myth of a couple, Chang’e and Hou Yi. In the myth, Hou Yi was given a pill of immortality for his valor in shooting down nine suns that had been plaguing the world with their heat. He entrusted the pill to Chang’e, his wife, to watch over.

However, one of his enemies tried to steal it, with no other options, she consumed them, which turned her into a moon goddess. Hou Yi made snow skin mooncakes for Chang’e and sent floating lanterns up to her in the myth, which became a tradition of the festival.

Origami Club’s activity reflected this by making Chinese paper lanterns. Origami Club president Sunny Park (12) said that as she and Origami Club vice president Serena Lee (12) prepared for the festival, they faced an issue: the paper lanterns that they planned to have were made of two halves, each taking more than five minutes to make, and they were concerned that making both would be too time-consuming for the students. Thus, they decided to make halves of the lanterns in advance to speed the process.

“We had to learn how to make [the lanterns] first,” Park said. “It was a little difficult for me because of the repetitive steps, but once I got the hang of it, I made [a few] to make sure I memorized the steps, then Serena [and I] made [16] of those half lanterns in various colors.”

East Asian Student Union’s activity also mirrored the myth, as it was making snow skin mooncakes, like the ones Hou Yi made for Chang’e. East Asian Student Union president Brandon Tran (12) said he prepared the molds, filling, and dough beforehand. At the station, students were able to press their mooncakes into molds, then eat them.

“People came to squeeze the mooncakes into the molds and have some fun making it for themselves, not just having us make it for them,” Tran said. “It was fun. I had to actually steam [the dough] in a pot [to prepare, so that was] a challenge. [Still,] I like to cook, so if people like my food, then I’m happy.”

Tran said that he wanted to share the tradition of mooncake making and eating with Westview students .

“[The Mid-Autumn Festival] is basically a family gathering in the harvest, similar to Thanksgiving,” he said. “You’re at home with your family and mooncakes, looking at the moon. Sometimes people don’t really do that anymore [because] it can be an inconvenience, so we’re making it more convenient by having all the [dough] balls ready for people to just squeeze into the molds. They can have that [joy] without all the dough making.”

One benefit of the festival, according to Tran, was that it displayed the rich cultures of East Asia.

“People can see other cultures,” he said. “It’s not only the Chinese that celebrate this [festival]. We have Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos who celebrate. All these events allow people to see the variety and also stories [of these cultures, with] Korean club’s Korean fans, Bayanihan’s tinikling [performance, and more].”

Korean Culture Club president Samuel Kim (12) said that the Korean fans reflected the Korean lifestyle, as they were commonly used during the hot summer months in Korea. He said that he hoped that the students would be able to emulate that and use them with San Diego’s warm weather as well as appreciate Korean culture.

“[Making the fans] could teach the students about the beauty of Korean culture,” Kim said. “It might look similar to other East Asian countries, but it has its own beauty, and I feel like making their own fans with Korean elements might let them know how beautiful Korean culture is.”

Kim said that the budget was a challenge for his club, but that the investment in the supplies was worth it.

“Because of our activity [making Korean fans], we needed to buy some supplies, but we were kind of running out of budget,” he said. “It’s going to add some difficulty to the other activities that we want to do, but this is the investment we want to make for this event. This is our first big collaboration with multiple other clubs, so it’s a significant event for us.”

In East and Southeast Asia, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a family gathering. For Kim, the festival at Westview felt reminiscent of that.

“In Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is meaningful because it represents the reunion of the family,” Kim said. “All the people gather at either their grandparents’ house or parents’ house and just celebrate the autumn together. I feel like this collaboration with a bunch of clubs all together for one purpose feels like a reunion of the family too.”