From eating dozens of mooncakes to lighting lanterns with loved ones, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an event celebrated by many Chinese students and their families. However when celebrations begin this Thursday, they will look a little different due to COVID-19.

“The festival celebrates the autumn harvest and it is a time to admire the full moon, since the holiday is always on a full moon on the lunar calendar,” freshman Jason Xie said via text. “It’s typically celebrated with family gatherings and it is similar to Thanksgiving.”

The festival lasts eight days and is mainly celebrated in Chinese communities as well as a few other East Asian communities.

“My family usually eats dinner together with friends. We eat mooncakes and make lanterns with balloons tied to them that we later in the night let go into the world,” sophomore Jane Li said via text. “This year we won’t be able to have a lot of friends over and we won’t be able to go out to eat.”

Mooncakes are one of the most popular foods to eat during the festival and they are a treat that many students, such as sophomore Isabel Wang, can’t wait for each year, with or without a pandemic.

“My family won’t be meeting with other people to celebrate this year but we still will have a great meal and enjoy the autumn weather together,” Wang said via text. “I am looking forward to eating all the mooncakes because there’s many different types and they all taste great.”