Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school and college students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
Saturday’s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival filled the Children’s Discovery Museum in downtown San Jose with festive activities for children to participate in.
It also created an outlet for young children to explore and learn about Chinese and Vietnamese cultures.
(Lauren Uppal/Mosaic)
Considered the second biggest holiday in Chinese and Vietnamese cultures on the lunar calendar, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival marks a time of harvest, reunion and celebration among Southeast Asian cultures.
The San Jose event, one of nine cultural events hosted annual by the Children’s Discovery Museum, highlighted where Chinese and Vietnamese cultures intersect.
Hands-on activities included making lanterns and Playdough moon cakes, an outdoor art workshop and lion dance performances from Yun Yee Tong USA, a San Jose Chinese martial arts organization.
The lion dance was the main attraction for many, and anticipation before the performance prompted a line that wrapped across the downstairs of the museum. During the performance, spectators watched a vibrant show with drums and acrobatics.
Outside, artist Andy Nguyen introduced cyanotype artwork, a photographic process that creates a blue and white image from a mix of sun exposure and chemicals.
Nguyen practices and teaches forms of the art, which honors his Vietnamese heritage.
“The Autumn Festival is most important for Chinese and Vietnamese children, but I’m looking forward to sharing it with other children too,” he said.
Inside the museum, Justin Vo, a staff member at the Vietnamese American Roundtable, brought an educational and historical aspect to the event. This civil engagement-based organization advocates for cultural learning, he said.
Vo said the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is for children during the harvest season.
“It’s where the children are able to build upon the legacies,” he said, adding that “the children are the sign of newness, new things happening, a new crop.”
Vo said other Southeastern Asian cultures that celebrate the event are not given as much recognition. “The lunar festivals that happen around that calendar aren’t just Chinese culture,” he said, adding that the Moon Festival is very inclusive.
Museum guests were happy the Children’s Discovery Museum offered the event. One parent from San Jose, who attended the event with his wife and daughter, said the festival creates space for everyone to celebrate in a positive environment.
Artist Nguyen said teaching children of all backgrounds about culturally rich activities such as cyanotype art is fulfilling and special.
“I think it is important that you share your culture with other people, with the kids the most, letting them learn about it from the beginning and from each other,” he said.
Lauren Uppal is a member of the class of 2026 at Del Mar High School in San Jose.