Celebrating traditions, customs and culture.
It has been a very busy week this week at Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai. We have been learning about the
tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most celebrated festival in China after Chinese New Year. As a College
steeped in tradition, embracing cultural celebrations is something that is vitally important to us.
Whilst embedding the very best Early Years’ education philosophy in to our practice, we also celebrate the cultural
traditions that pay respect to where we are placed in the world and acknowledge those customs that represent our
families. This is how bilingualism truly works; it is a marriage, not only of language but of all other elements that
make for a holistic educational experience.
Mid-Autumn Festival represents family; a time for reunion and peace. It is celebrated when the moon is believed to be at
its fullest – a sign of prosperity and happiness. It is a tradition of over 3,000 years dating back to the moon worship
during the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1046BC). The practice of eating moon cakes has been evident for over 650 years and
represents a longstanding tradition of stories celebrating Mid-Autumn.
Cultural traditions are important because they transmit shared values and stories from one generation to the next.
Stories associated with Mid-Autumn Festival; Chang’e and Hou Yi, Wu Gang chopping the Cherry Bay and the story of the
Jade Rabbit have been told for generations and are passed down through families, giving meaning to the festival for the
youngest family members.
Traditions encourage groups of people to create and share a collective identity, which in turn serves to shape
individual identities. Cultural traditions function to strengthen a sense of community; it is our hope that over time,
we will have our own Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai traditions that become intrinsic to our identity. We have a
strong vision of the culture we wish to create here at Wellington College; it is based on strong partnership, shared
values, open communication, embracing holistic development of unique individuals and celebrating achievement. Our 100
Days of Friendship celebration is our first ‘tradition’ and this will continue annually.
Throughout the learning spaces, the pupils have embraced the history of Mid-Autumn Festival in many creative ways and
the Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai families will be gifted these wonderful pieces of art throughout the week. The
Early Years Three pupils helped to produce a piece of artwork which will become our celebratory card and I’m sure you’ll
agree that it is beautiful and representative of Mid-Autumn Festival (with an added touch of glitter and sparkle, as we
like it!).
It has been a short week this week; after a fun-packed three days, we wish you a wonderful long weekend with your
families and we look forward to welcoming you back to Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai
on Monday 19th September.
