Homesick Boy

By: Jinhao Tan
10/7/2014

                                                             Homesick Boy              

              When you still have something, you will probably think it's not special. However, if you

      lost it, you would really miss it. Every country has its own special celebrations and festivals. I 

      had been living in China for twenty years before I came to the U.S. The Mid- Autumn Festival

      was not exciting for me in China, but everything changed when I moved to America. I had to alter

      and adapt the way of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. Nowadays, my cherished moon cakes,

      environment, and Mid- Autumn Festival activities have changed a lot and really make me miss

      deeply original Chinese Mid- Autumn Festival. 

              Moon cakes are perhaps the most important part of Mid- Autumn Festival, but the meaning 

     has gotten lost in the U.S. In America, moon cake price is cheaper than in China. However, when

     you want to buy a special moon cake which many people like on that festival day, the supermarket

     clerks would tell you that kind of moon cake is already sold out. The stores cannot satisfy people'

     expectations. On the other hand, the moon cake has its special meaning. Moon cakes look like the

     moon. They are circular and symbolize a family reunion. Because of the different culture,

     American companies don't know this festival. They don't give any moon cakes to their employees.

     In China, when this festival comes, every company would give moon cake to the employees. This

     small cake means they hope the employees have a great reunion. Even though there is a big 

     Chinatown in Chicago, the festival makes me feel strange and homesick.

            Because of the atmosphere differences in the festival, I began to miss the festivals in my

    hometown city. There are two kinds of feelings that affect my mind: feeling from people and

    feeling from my family. First, when I attend the festival in Chicago, the atmosphere makes me feel

    that today is a common day. The only thing I could feel is that nobody cares. In China, I could see

    most people having a happy face on that day. Second, the lifestyle is slowly changing my family,

    and it makes me feel that my family doesn't pay attention to this festival anymore. In China, we

    would talk and eat at night. These actions can promote affection between family members, yet 

    these days that feeling has disappeared.

                                           

       Finally, another difference in the celebration is special activities for the ceremony. Playing

    with the lantern and admiring the full moon are unforgettable moments. Many Chinese people

    do what they want to do after the festival dinner in U.S, but they might forget a very important 

    part. Admiring the full moon is an ancient and traditional activity. It always made me think about

    a picture of a Chinese family. They are sitting around the table full of the food, and they are raising

    their heads to watch the moon. In addition, lantern playing is a really interesting activity for

    children. In China, most children hold the lantern and play with their friend. Sometimes, many

    adults play with their children, which gives me harmonious and lively feeling. However, it's hard 

    to see this activity in America. In the American celebration, many Chinese people just sit around 

    around the table and eat the festival dinner. There are not the admiring the full moon or playing 

    with lanterns. At the festival night, the thing I can feel from the festival atmosphere is silence and 

    repression, so I miss the activities and atmosphere of the original Chinese Mid- Autumn Festival.

             The different meaning of moon cake, feeling of festival, and original activities make my 

     homesickness stronger. In China, the moon cake expresses congratulations. I also experience  the

     celebration in the U.S differently because of the different feeling. Furthermore, the original 

     activities are not the same in that insipid and depressive atmosphere. I wish I could be in my

     hometown with my whole family right now. We would be communicating and enjoying this 

     great traditional Mid- Autumn Festival.