Concord families joined hundreds of others on Saturday, October 4, for a community celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a centuries-old Chinese holiday honoring family, harvest, and reunion. Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally observed on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which is October 6 this year, and the holiday coincides with the night when the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest.
Organized with the leadership of the Concord Carlisle Chinese Club (C4) and four other local Chinese associations—Acton Chinese American Civic Society, Chinese-American Association of Sudbury, WeStar of Weston, and Jasmine Cultural Arts Foundation—and held in collaboration at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, the event brought neighbors together to share an evening of food, performances, and cultural tradition.
The Concord Carlisle Chinese Club, known as C4, began about two decades ago when a handful of Chinese American families in Concord and Carlisle wanted to get together and build a Chinese community. “Originally, it was families having dinners together, sharing information,” said C4 Director Shaw Yang, who has lived in Concord for more than thirty years. Yang continued, “A bunch of families got together, decided to make it more permanent, and formed a nonprofit. Over the years, it expanded its mission.”
Today, C4 focuses on two main goals: bringing Concord-Carlisle Chinese American families together and sharing Chinese culture in Concord, Carlisle, and neighboring towns. The group hosts events like the annual Chinese New Year performance at CCHS, summer picnics, and webinars on topics such as voting and local government.
A Lotus Blooms from the Mud
President of C4 and the event’s initiator, Yvette Fang, said the idea for the celebration grew out of a painful personal experience. “It all started when my kids were treated with discrimination at a school,” she explained. “Then I was like, I want to build a platform where minority kids could feel welcomed and treated fairly.”
That idea led her to host a Mid-Autumn gathering last year, which expanded into an event that now unites Concord’s Chinese American community each year. “It feels like a lotus; it’s so beautiful, but it grew from the mud,” Fang reflected. “Where it came from may not be a beautiful story, but the outcome is so beautiful.”
A Festival of Tradition
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, has been celebrated in China for over 3,000 years and traces back to harvest rituals honoring the moon goddess Chang’e. Families traditionally gather under the full moon, light lanterns, and eat mooncakes (round pastries filled with lotus seed paste or red bean) together.
The event began with a bustling hour where families sampled steamed buns, pancakes, and mooncakes, the pastry most closely associated with the holiday. Children painted faces, posed with a lion-dance prop (the lion dance is often performed during Chinese festivals, symbolizing good fortune and the warding off of evil spirits), and snapped photos against a glowing backdrop.
From 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the stage came alive with performances. Highlights include the MIT Lion Dance Team, a Sichuan opera face-changing master from Worcester, and martial arts demonstrations from New Wushu Academy Acton.
For Fang, the holiday’s meaning is rooted in family. “This reminds me [of] the Chinese version of a Thanksgiving, because it’s for families to unite. The specific elements could be different; for example, we eat mooncakes instead of turkey, we have some special stories… but the core is the family.”
Concord Business Support
The festival was made possible in part through local sponsorship, including support from Concord business owner Ying Zhang, who runs Gardenia Blossoms Wellness Center, a Chinese medicine clinic.
Zhang stated her larger goal is preserving traditions. “In Concord, where there are fewer Chinese families compared to other towns, it’s especially important for the next generation not to forget our traditions,” Zhang said. “Celebrations like this help young people stay connected.”
She added, “These events also help us connect with neighbors. In America, we often live in separate houses and may not know each other well. Festivals like this create a chance to meet, share culture, and build community.”
Building Bridges in Concord
For Fang, cultural events like this one serve a greater purpose. “In Concord, we definitely need more; not just [from] Chinese communities, but also other cultures,” she explained. “That will be a great bridge for different cultures and different communities. And we can unite very well as the United States. We Chinese Americans are friendly and open to make friends.”
Yang said that welcoming spirit is exactly what defines C4’s mission: “We [the Chinese American community] want to be fully engaged—culturally, civically, every way possible—because we are Americans, and we are part of this society.”
As Fang put it, “When the moon is full, no matter where we are, we feel connected. That’s the spirit of Mid-Autumn, and that’s what we hoped to share.”
