Family, laughter, reflection, and gratitude: these were the emotions displayed by participants in the Mid-Autumn Festival put on by the Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures & Education Center on Sept. 26. The festival was filled with food, performances, a weapons demonstration, and vendors selling everything from crocheted characters and keychains to wood block-printed shirts. Also on display were authentic, non-replica weapons like Katana, Dao, and even Wakizashi.
The original intention of mid-autumn festivals were reflection and gratitude under the full moon, and began in China with the myth of Hou Yi, a legendary archer who shot down nine extra suns to save the earth, received an elixir his wife drank and floated up to the sky, turning her into the moon goddess.
The celebration has been adopted by other Asian cultures with every culture celebrating in different ways. Japan focuses on reflection under the harvest moon. Korean celebrations are more family focused, holding memorial services and visiting graves.
“[The festival] actually means the inverse of what it should mean,” said museum Director Richard Hafemeister. The Corpus Christi museum along with museums in San Antonio and Houston hosts their festivals a little differently. “We’re all doing it in early September as a going-away for the impossible-to-work-with heat. And so, we’re celebrating the start of the easy season for us.”
Hafemeister encourages locals to continue to come out and enjoy the museums and attractions in the Coastal Bend area. Many of these attractions are run by nonprofits, with the intention of keeping prices low for community enjoyment. The museum’s main focus is on history from a number of Asian countries, with exhibits ranging from a Singapore taxicab, a six-foot jade Chinese warrior, and over 800 Japanese Hakata dolls.
The museum hosts events throughout the year, with upcoming events like “Undertale” Fan Market on Nov. 7, and classes teaching printmaking and ceramic glazing on Oct. 25.
