handsful

In the light of the silvery moon…

This weekend, we had the pleasure of getting together with our local FCC (Families with Children from China) group to celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival.  Here is a little info on this holiday…

The Autumn Moon Festival…sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival or Lantern Festival…dates back to over 3,000 years to moon worship in China’s Shang (or Tang, I saw references to both) dynasty.  It’s held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.  It’s one of the two most important Chinese holidays (the other being Chinese New Year).  It is a time for families to come together to admire the moon, eat mooncakes, light lanterns, and watch dragon dances.  Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and the brightest, signaling a time of completeness and abundance.  

Our group decided to spend our evening at the St. Augustine splash park, right beside the beach and under the moon.  We were very excited to be there, as it was our first FCC event WITH our Lainey.  We had attended other things in the past (as a “waiting family”) and had admired all the beautiful little girls (and some boys) in our group, with a wee bit of jealousy ;)  This time, it felt great to actually be a family with a child from China. 

Here are some photos from the night…

Lainey, Mom, Abbey, Marley, and Ethan…splashing with a view of the ocean.  Can’t beat that. 

Pure joy

Payton throws a little kung fu on the fountains

Payton, there’s water EVERYWHERE!

It was a fun night!  On my sidebar, you’ll see a category called “local families”.  Check out some of their blogs…I’ll be adding more soon.