As autumn settles in, families celebrate seasonal festivities around the globe. Oxford’s student body, diversely composed of global immigrants and their descendants, brings several of these to the table.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Korea: Chuseok
Chuseok is the “Korean Thanksgiving,” celebrated by gathering with loved ones. “During Chuseok, families spread across the nation come together for a day and celebrate with good food, music, and games,” said junior Claire Jung, Secretary of Oxford’s Korean Culture Awareness club (KCA). KCA brought traditional Korean games to the quad on Oct. 3 for students to play and distributed “yakgwa,” a traditional deep-fried cookie, in celebration of the holiday.
Vietnam: Tết Trung Thu
Vietnamese celebrations of Tết Trung Thu uniquely focus on children. “It’s a time where children can celebrate being kids, [and] it really encompasses the time of youth,” said senior Megan Dang, Co-President of Oxford’s Vietnamese Student Association (VSA). To promote the holiday, VSA hosted a lantern-crafting activity at their Oct. 16 meeting where students created traditional Vietnamese lanterns to celebrate joy and harmony.
Diwali
Commonly celebrated in South Asia, Diwali is a religious “festival of lights” honoring a multitude of significant events across various religions. To celebrate Diwali, families light oil lamps (divas) to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness. Festivities take place around October or November and last for five days, marking the start of the Hindu New Year. Junior Keerat Sidhu, President of Oxford’s AASHA describes the holiday as “a time to see family and gather to pray together.” AASHA held their first meeting on Oct. 16th, educating members about Diwali through an engaging This-or-That game.
Día de los Muertos
Día de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead,” occurs Nov. 1 and 2 to reunite the living and the dead: deceased children are honored on the first day and adults on the second. Families build altars (ofrendas) decorated with photos of their passed loved ones, honoring them with their favorite foods and personal items. For Co-President of Association of Oxford’s Latin American Scholars (ALAS) junior Diana Ayala, the holiday demonstrates “how much love there is in the culture for not only people who are living, but also people who have passed.” ALAS plans to decorate an ofrenda in the English building in observance of Día de los Muertos.
Ethiopian New Year
Marking the beginning of a new harvest, the Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on Sept. 11th or 12th. Ethiopians gather to eat cultural foods and engage in cultural music and dances in celebration: Oxford’s Black Student Union (BSU) Co-President senior Abigail Mengesha describes the Ethiopian New Year as “a time where we look back on the year and give thanks to the blessings offered throughout, and how united we are as a culture.” Despite not being able to hold celebrations on campus this year, they plan to engage the student body in the holiday next year by playing traditional music and introducing Ethiopian cuisine.
Autumn brings many festivities and fun not only to Oxford, but around the world. Millenia-long traditions and celebrations thrive to this day with the help of those who carry on their legacies. This fall, embrace the richness of diverse cultures and their festivities — and maybe even join a few with friends!
