The World Cup winning team of Argentina arrived home to a major celebration of fans in Buenos Aires. Millions of people took to the streets to celebrate the champions’ return.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
Every year the first full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox is recognized as the Harvest Moon, and is widely celebrated across the world as one of the biggest lunar events of the year. The autumnal equinox in general is significant for many cultures around the world. In many Asian countries it’s believed that the full moon is the brightest during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is celebrated with a variety of customs and traditions.
Traditionally, the Mid-autumn festival is observed in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It’s celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which usually falls in mid-September or early October. This year, the full moon is projected to occur on October 1st, here’s how some of these countries will be celebrating:
Festival customs vary based on country, like any holiday celebration. All generally focus on family gatherings, special foods, lanterns, and offerings to the moon. In Taiwan, for example, the event is a national holiday and involves eating mooncakes and pomelo. The food traditions on this night are just as important as turkey on Thanksgiving or a ham on Christmas.
In South Korea the celebrations last for three days to give everyone enough time to reconnect with their families and friends; normally people come back to South Korea from all over the world to celebrate the festival. In Vietnam the event is called the “Children’s Festival” and involves kids carrying lanterns while they watch traditional lion dances and enjoy some homemade mooncakes.
Mooncakes are another generally accepted traditional element of the Mid-Autumn festival. People either give them to their loved ones as gifts, make them for family gatherings, or donate to local organizations. The cakes are meant to represent the full moon, and are traditionally filled with either bean paste, egg yolk, truffles, chocolate, or even ice cream.
The legend of the festival involves a hero named Hou Yi, who single handedly shot down nine of the ten suns that were overheating the earth. As a reward, the Goddess of the Heavens gave him a special elixir that would enable him to become a god himself. Hou Yi’s wife, however, was forced to drink the elixir one day after an evil man tried to steal it from them. She then flew up to the moon along with her rabbit, so in a fit of heartbreak Hou Yi placed his wife’s favorite foods on his table every year on the day of the fullest moon, hoping she would return to him.
Now, Netflix is even getting involved in the festivities with the release of “Over the Moon,” a computer animated musical that’s based on the legend behind the festival. The musical will follow a young girl named Fei Fei, who’s coping with the loss of her mother and becomes enthused to learn about the legend of the Moon Goddess.
Lady M is a very prominent mooncake maker and recently announced a collaboration with Netflix and Pearl Studios – the studio producing “Over the Moon” – to celebrate the film and upcoming event. The artist created a limited-edition lantern that actually glows to highlight its opulent gold and emerald accents. If you click a button the Moon goddess and other mythical creatures will appear as well. The lantern also comes with six different moon cake variations to keep with tradition.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
It is an obvious statement to say that time moves forward. Particular events move further and further away as we accelerate into the future but one can always find threads of the past woven into the present day. Every new year brings with it another marker on the tally of memorialization and 2020 in particular yields some rather relevant anniversaries. January saw the seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, whose memorials brought the horrors of the Holocaust back to the forefront of the public mind. September this year will also mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of the second world war. Both occasions mark an “ending” but hold with them the weight of trauma and horror that cannot be undone or turned away from.
Many of us believe, on a personal level, to try not to live in the past. Indeed, it is the basis of many mindfulness practices. The past cannot be changed and it is the present moment that is important. Nevertheless, acts of remembrance and memorialization are an important part of our culture. Each year we celebrate days dedicated to public figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. (January 20th), days celebrating the country’s history such as Independence Day (July 4th) and days that deliver respect for those who have suffered for the country, Memorial Day (May 25th).
Public memory is short-term and with our faces turned to the future, we understandably get lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Yet, some events shook the world so undeniably that they are remembered not only on designated public days, but in the teachings of histories, literature’s and physical memorials in our cities. The after effects of events such as the holocaust and World War 2 resonate clearly into the future.
It can be argued that regularly remembering these events can stop history from repeating itself, recognize where we have evolved and where we have yet to change. Unfortunately, the Holocaust, although a chilling warning against fascism, is not a stand-alone event or a blip in human nature. We have seen it again and again throughout history and since, with Apartheid and most recently the coordinated attacks on the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Sadly, therefore, the Holocaust has important messages that still need to be repeated today.
The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz relived the historical fact, shared the narratives of survivors and told the stories of those lost. The importance of remembering such an event not only pays homage to those affected, understanding that even after seventy-five years the damage has not lessened, but it holds a scrutinizing mirror up to society as we recognize the depths of evil that humankind is capable of.
The honoring of the victims of the Holocaust prompted important discussions of Antisemitism to come further forward. Like racism and many other forms of prejudice Antisemitism is still not a thing of the past and concern is mounting due to a rise in this form of discrimination. An article from the BBC noted that the Anti Defamation League had recorded 1879 incidents of Antisemitism in 2018 which, although down from the previous year, demonstrates a growing trend. Worldwide studies of Antisemitism indicated a rising level of prejudiced crimes overall.
Although many of the year’s anniversaries fall under the title of “seventy-five years since the end of World War 2” scattered through 2020 are many anniversaries of importance within that cohort. Notably, August will mark seventy-five years after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A subject which is fraught with moral complexities but the true atrocity of which is undeniable. Sadness and respect and for the 70,000 innocent Japanese people is still felt today and is very important to memorialize. In today’s society the fear of Nuclear warfare has a firm placement at the precipice of the worlds mind as countries attempt to avoid conflict. Dubbed “the bomb that shook the world,” the unprecedented and unpredictable volume of its devastation still shocks and scares us today.
Memorialization is a crucial and cathartic pillar of society that allows both a communal grief, respect and solidarity. After times of such devastation this is important. Although seventy-five years may have passed there are still those alive who directly experienced World War 2, the Holocaust or the atomic bomb and those who dealt with loss or witnessed the after-effects and struggles of their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and so on. 2021 will mark twenty years since the Twin Tower Attacks. A memory that is painfully held in the minds of many, the losses of which still play a significant role in many of our lives today. Memorializing such events spread awareness and understanding in the public sphere. Just as teaching children in history classes can, in a controlled environment, appropriately educate and inform in order for a public evolvement to take place. Clear rights and wrongs can be underlined and through understanding prevent history from repeating itself.
Toni Campbell is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in the United Kingdom. You can reach her at inquiries@thenationaldigest.com.
For Native American Heritage Month each year, the Indigenous Students at Syracuse plan events such as film screenings, panels and guest speakers to celebrate their culture. This year, the group is hosting a fashion show to highlight native cultures through clothing and art, said A’ngelee Clause, the creative director for the organization.
The Indigenous Runway Fashion Show will take place at Skybarn on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. The idea to put on a fashion show came from Clause, who’s from the Tuscarora Turtle Clan of Western New York. Clause is involved with other fashion shows and wanted to see how her own culture could be interpreted into a fashion show, she said. All the clothing worn by the models will be provided by the organization.
Clause said it’s important for ISAS to bring attention to important pieces of indigenous culture. With it being Native American Heritage History Month, she said it’s the perfect time to educate the Syracuse community about the culture that surrounds them.
A’ngelee Clause is is the creative director for the Indigenous Students at Syracuse, the organization that’s putting on the fashion show. Corey Henry | Photo Editor
“I think it’s really important for the native communities to really be showcased and broadcasted, especially in this time of year,” Clause said.
Clause said that a lot of the organization’s events are primarily attended by club members. While the group has a tight network, its audience becomes limited, Clause said. She said it’s important for SU students to understand native culture at and around SU.
The Indigenous Runway Fashion Show will feature traditional regalia, as well as more contemporary clothing from native designers. The contrast between the two different styles of clothing represents how indigenous individuals hold onto their tradition and culture but also live modern lives, said Maris Jacobs, co-president of ISAS.
The students running the fashion show said they hope that the event will be educational for people that do not know much about indigenous cultures. Jacob said she hopes that non-indigenous students can learn about who indigenous people really are and that the show will clear up misconceptions people may have about them.
Indigenous Students at Syracuse is hosting a fashion show that will feature both traditional and modern Indigenous clothing. Corey Henry | Photo Editor
“A lot of people have really negative stereotypes that go along with what being a native person means, and it’s difficult to have those conversations with people that might have misconceptions of who we are,” Jacobs said.
Logan Booth, a student from the Seneca Nation, said she wants to share her pride of being a native student with the Syracuse community through the fashion show. She hopes people’s main takeaway is indigenous students are still part of the SU community and proud of where they come from.
“We’re still proud of our culture. We still have our culture intact even though, in the past, there’s been a lot of things that have brought our people a lot of trauma and a lot of doubts about our identity,” said Booth.
One of the long-term goals of the event is to create connections between indigenous and non-indigenous students, Jacobs said. She said she hopes the fashion show can highlight indigenous students and bring more representation onto SU’s campus.
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