We sent another care package to Miao in honor of the national holiday, "Moon Festival" also known as "Mid-Autumn Festival" Our care package was sent via Gifts To China With Love.
The care package service is working toward putting together a party to include the other families children, that also sent a Moon Festival care package. Miao should return to the orphanage for Moon Festival, as she returns with each major holiday in China. It will be great if the director agrees to allow these children to celebrate together because Miao will be at the orphanage, with the other children! We know a few other families that have children at the orphanage and are also participating in the Moon Festival party.
What is Moon Festival?
One of the few most important holidays on the Chinese calendar, others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice and is a legal holiday in several countries.
On one autumn evening each year, (this year it is September 22) people throughout China celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival ie: Moon Festival. Like Thanksgiving, this is a time for families to gather and give thanks.
On the traditional Chinese calendar, the Moon Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is at its fullest. On our Western calendar, that translates to a different date each year, between mid September to early October.
Traditionally on this day, families and friends will gather, to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon and eat moon cakes and pomelas under the moon together.
For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday season.
Our Care Package to Miao
We sent Miao a Mid-Autumn care package that included the popular moon cakes, a bag of candy, fresh fruit and a disposable camera. We also added in the package, a t-shirt and a letter. Our letter was in response to the last letter she wrote us. She asked for additional information on her new school, her bedroom and her concern with making friends. She very much sounds like a typical teen, friends are the utmost important factor in a girls life at this age. She's concerned over how to make friends given the language barrier. She's excited about her new family but is anxious and nervous about the move. In each of our letters, we try very hard to convey the message that we understand her concerns and are here to help and have explained to her ways we plan to help overcome each anxiety she mentions. We also convey repeatedly that we are her forever family, she will be our daughter forever and how much we love her. Please pray with us that God will fill Miao's heart with a sense of peace. While she is excited about a new family.....she's also very nervous.
Pictures of her Moon Festival Gifts:
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| Moon Festival Care Package |
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| Our Letter to Miao |
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| Hello Kitty T-Shirt, an extra gift we added |
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