Autumn Moon Festival and Family

Hi Everyone,

I belive I posted last year about the Holiday in China, Autumon Moon festival.

It is celebrated on the full moon of the eighth lunar month. It is believed that the moon is the brightest at this time. A wonderful thing about the moon-- everyone can see it (unless it is cloudy) no matter where in the world they live.

Chinese custom is for families to gather as much as possible, eat a nice meal, share in moon cakes and sit, walk under the light of the moon. Families can look to the moon and know that their loved ones who are not with them physically are also looking at the moon and thus they are connected spiritually through the moon.

This holiday is often very important to Chinese Adoptees, even though they do knot know their first mom or first family and may not remember a foster family-- they can look to the moon knowing that these people from their past are likely looking at the moon as well. Kind of powerful stuff.

We celebrated this holiday at our home. I made a meal of egg fu young and gravy, jasmine rice, and steamed broccoli. Wim,Xavier and I took Clara Rose and Josie for a stroll in the moonlight, along the river by our home. I explained to the girls that the river runs out the Atlantic Ocean, which meets the Pacific Ocean, and on to the China Sea. That the water flowing in our river at some point also flowed in China.

Josie laughed and told me I was silly.

I also emailed a letter to Clara Rose's Foster Family. I email with their adult daughter a couple times a month. I use a couple computer based translators to translate our words and it works OK-- not perfect but well enough.

I emailed to tell them what we have been up to and how Clara Rose is doing. They always ask about Josie as well. I also told them we would be thinking about them while looking at the full moon.

Their daughter wrote back and I have decided to share her letter, this time, on the blog.

*****

Dear Aunt:Hello!

First of all bless your family and Happy Moon Festival! In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year are very important. Mid-Autumn Festival is the day when the moon is the brightest in most parks.

Many families celebrate a reunionwe especially miss Rao Rao (Clara Rose) this year but are happy that she and Dong Dong and you are family. Mid-Autumn Festival wish you happiness, happiness, health!

To see the lyrics in your letter, from the heart that it is a good description of the United States (I translated the lyrics to the song, “Somewhere Out There”). Our family is so far from the United States. You are, I hope, sitting around the moon, full moon with the whole family. This is a simple happiness!

Rao Rao unknowingly have the love you have given and grown so much. We think she must be fluent and you have a dialogue, and small partners can play a pleasant part.

Thank you, we are so happy for her and that you are thinking of our family!

My family and I miss you!

****
In my previous email I translated the lyrics to the song below and included them in my email. I think this song does a good job of summing up the Autumn Moon Festival. I often hummed this song to myself while we were in the process of adopting Clara Rose, not even realizing that she was living in a family who loved her very much.

Many people believe that when a family adopts a child, that once the adoption is complete, it's over when actually, it is the beginning.

Clara Rose with her foster family a little more than a month before we adopted her.

Somewhere Out There

written by James Horner, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil

Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight

Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through

Then we'll be together somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true

And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there if love can see us through

Then we'll be together somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true.