NAIROBI, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Summoned to the podium on a chilly Wednesday morning, 19-year-old Chinese language minor John Mark electrified the audience at the Mid-Autumn celebration hosted by the Confucius Institute at Kenyatta University.
His commanding stage presence, towering height, and persuasive vocals brought the neoclassical ballad “Love is Like a Tide” to life during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Full Moon, Full Bloom event.
Clad in elegant attire, Mark delivered sentimental lyrics that set the stage for a riveting mid-autumn festival celebration ahead of the festival, which falls on Sept. 25 this year.
The event was graced by diplomats, scholars, and young learners, featuring music, dance, martial arts, calligraphy, and a sampling of delicious mooncakes.
“I really love Chinese music because I am a musician, but beyond that, I just enjoy the culture, especially fashion. In this Mid-Autumn Festival, I am excited by its ability to bring us together across cultural divides,” said Mark.
“As a young person, I enjoyed the feeling of family togetherness,” he added.
Held at a spacious hall, the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration featured speeches, scholarly debates, and showcasing of martial arts, song, dance, painting, and sharing of sumptuous mooncakes.
Hundreds of learners drawn from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions attended the half-day event, co-organized by Kenyatta University’s Confucius Institute and Dingtao District of Heze City in east China’s Shandong Province.
True to its “Full Moon, Full Bloom” theme, the celebration used the peony and the moon as a bridge, linking the famed peonies of the Yellow River banks with the warmth and vibrancy of the East African savanna, in a bid to help Chinese peony culture blossom across Africa.
Leonard Chacha Mwita, the Kenyan director of Kenyatta University’s Confucius Institute, noted that the mid-autumn festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, has a strong resonance in Africa, given its emphasis on family reunions, gratitude and harmony.
“Let us therefore share this day as one family. The Mid-Autumn Festival brings us together to reflect on the time that is past and to share the various bonds that bring us together,” Chacha said.
“Just as the way the moon shines on all of us, our cultural exchange will also illuminate all of us,” he added.
Tang Jianjun, the counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, underscored the role of the Mid-Autumn Festival in bridging cultural divides and fostering harmonious coexistence.
In addition, Tang said the festival’s celebration in Kenya aligns with key objectives of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges that was launched early this year.
The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration won the hearts of Kenyan youth who relished the pomp and pageantry of one of the most important traditional festivals in China after the Lunar Year.
Her youthful energy palpable, Angela “Tianshi” Moraa, a Chinese language student at Kenyatta University, stood out during a group performance of martial arts and some classical Chinese music.
Moraa said that the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration offered a platform for local youth to gain more understanding of ancient and contemporary Chinese culture, and its influence on global civilization.
With its roots in ancient traditions of moon worship and harvest celebrations, the Mid-Autumn Festival is today a public holiday in China and an important part of the Asian nation’s cultural heritage.
Beyond celebrations, the festival provides an opportunity to appreciate family, friendship, happiness, peace, and hopes for a better future, according to Benson Kamau, a Chinese language teacher at Kenyatta University.
Halima Saidi, a Kenyatta University education student taking beginner Chinese, has become familiar with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
She appreciates its meaningful traditions, particularly how it brings families and communities together to bond and celebrate life.
“I encourage fellow youth to get out and experience the beauty of the autumn festival, to appreciate other cultures, food, and costumes,” Halima said, her face glowing after tasting a mooncake.
