There was a sea of colour at St Margaret Mary’s School and Preschool, Croydon Park as the school celebrated its annual Mid-Autumn Festival on September 17.
Autumn colours of red, yellow, and orange, and a wide range of cultural costumes were on display as staff and students came together to acknowledge and celebrate their multicultural backgrounds.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in September each year to coincide with autumn in the northern hemisphere, originated in China and is celebrated in many Asian countries.
As a very multicultural school with a large Vietnamese community, the festival is held at St Margaret Mary’s to celebrate the diversity and inclusion of all cultures represented at the school. Students proudly wear traditional clothes to represent their cultural heritage.
The Vietnamese version of the festival has its own traditions and legends. The best-known tale is about a man named Cuội who hung on to a magical banyan tree as it floated up to the moon. They say that if you look closely at the full moon, you can see the shadow of a man sitting under a tree. Children parade lanterns in the streets the night of Mid-Autumn Festival to help light the way to earth for Cuội from the moon.
On the night of the full moon, children bearing brightly coloured lanterns form raucous processions and tour their neighbourhoods singing songs. A male dancer wears a round happy-faced mask that symbolises the moon. He urges lion dancers on and delights the crowd with his comical moves. This is the Earth God, Ông Địa, who represents the fullness of the earth and reminds onlookers to give thanks for its bounty. Ông Địa always brings joy and puts a smile on every Vietnamese child's face.
At their celebration, students at St Margaret Mary’s led a traditional fan dance, a lion dance, and shared the story of Uncle Cuội. Students created and hung many colourful lanterns and shared a meal of spring rolls, fried rice and fried chicken!
Reception students performed a song about butterflies, Year 2 students shared the story of Uncle Cuội in dramatic form, Year 5 and 6 girls performed a fan dance, and Year 5 and 6 boys presented the Lion Dance.
The Catholic Schools Music Festival has wrapped for another year.
Running from September 20 to 23 in 2021, the annual festival brings together approximately 1400 students from Catholic schools across South Australia to showcase their vast musical gifts.
