Mid-Autumn Festival

On June 18, 2018, the Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg hosted the Dragon Boat Festival cultural experience on the first floor of  the “Maison du Savoir “, with the theme “Friendship, sharing & Zongzi”. This activity was mainly divided into three sections: Dragon Boat Festival Quiz, Food Experience and Handwork.

 At first, the participants watch the Dragon Boat Festival cultural knowledge exhibited. After watching all the exhibitions, they could participate in interesting quizzes. After answering the quizzes, they could win a pair of chopsticks with beautiful Beijing Opera masks.

After everyone learned about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival they went to try the traditional food of this festival. The team of the Confucius Institute spent a lot of time to prepare a lot of Zongzi for the participants. Trying to satisfy everyone's tastes, they prepared two types of Zongzi : the sweet bean Zongzi and  the meat Zongzi. It was a success and the Institute received good feedback from its Chinese culinary homemade dishes.

The Food experience was followed by the Handwork session. The Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg had prepared a variety of handmade materials for everyone. Our cultural experience included: Learn how to make Zongzi, and make your own perfume pouches and five-colour thread braid. Participants with the guidance of the teachers and volunteers of the Confucius Institute started to apply themselves to those handworks. They expressed their intense interest into succeeding to it.

The Dragon Boat Festival not only attracted the students and staffs of the University of Luxembourg, but also some Chinese who traveled from far away to experience this event.  All the Chinese sensationally said that the Dragon Boat Festival activities of the Confucius Institute had let them feel the warmth of the motherland. Although they work overseas, they are eager to let their children learn the traditional culture, which inherits from the long history of Chinese civilization. Many other Luxembourgish friends also learned about the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival for the first time. They felt the warm atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival .This was a very unforgettable experience for them. The Confucius Institute expressed the fact that more traditional Chinese festivals and cultural activities will be organized. The participants were also very interested in the upcoming Chinese language courses of the Confucius Institute. They couldn’t wait to learn Chinese and know contemporary China's development.

This event attracted more than 300 people. The Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg had received support and assistance from all the friendly people. The Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg, as a bridge of Luxembourg and China, will continue to organize more cultural events and make more and more people feel Chinese culture.