In Vietnamese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second-largest traditional holiday after the Chinese New Year, the three regions of the country are eagerly awaiting. Mid-Autumn Vietnam Festival is not only for children but also for everyone’s fun and dating.
What is it? The meaning of the mid-autumn festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the agricultural civilization of the Vietnamese people. At this time, the air is cool, the crops are waiting for harvest, people celebrate singing and playing.
On this day, according to Vietnamese customs, adults often prepare trays (cakes, fruits …) to offer to ancestors, the deceased. After that, all the family members gathered together to enjoy the fruits, watching the moon.
Vietnamese on this day will also pay their respects to grandparents and parents with gifts and greetings. Also known as Children’s Day, many folk games will be organized for children on this day.
Mid-Autumn Vietnam Festival time
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the full moon of the 8th lunar month every year. Not only is Tet for children, but this is also an opportunity for people to gather and reunite after the time away from work.
According to the solar calendar:
- 2020: 01 October
- 2021: 21 September
- 2022: 10 September
- 2023: 29 September
- 2024: 17 September
- 2025: 06 October
- 2026: 25 September
- 2027: 15 September
How is it celebrated?
Eat moon cake
Mooncakes symbolize reunion, which is indispensable during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Eating moon cakes is also an important content of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Usually, there are two types of mooncakes, “scones” and “flexible cakes”. Initially, moon cakes are circular in shape, gradually, the cake is transformed into many shapes such as animals, flowers, leaves … suitable to the tastes of consumers.
Lantern parade
On this festival, people often organize children to pick lanterns around their area. Lantern parade festivals can be launched by local authorities or residents. They assigned each other to make huge star lanterns or beautiful lanterns to compete with each other during the festival.
Lion dance
Vietnamese people organize Lion Dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The lion symbolizes luck, prosperity and auspicious for every home.
Watch the Moon
Apart from being a fun activity for children and adults, watching the moon and eating moon cakes is also a time for family members to rejoice together.
Which places are suitable for visitors who want to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival
If you are traveling in Vietnam on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, let’s explore the tourist destinations that can not be missed.
Luong Nhu Hoc lantern street – Ho Chi Minh City
Dubbed the “Lantern Paradise” in Ho Chi Minh City, Luong Nhu Hoc Lantern Street is a destination that people in Ho Chi Minh City often come to every Mid-Autumn Festival.
Here, visitors can come across both innovative high-tech electric lamps and hand-made paper lamp products, all hand-crafted by Chinese artisans living here. On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole street is bright in the shimmering colors of countless lights with different shapes.
Young people can unleash their poses and take photos that capture the moment of the full moon season by this attractive lantern street. For tourists and families with children, Luong Nhu Hoc lantern street is definitely an attractive destination not to be missed in this mid-autumn festival.
Traditional Phan Thiet Mid-Autumn Festival
The festival is usually held at the Phan Thiet coastal city theater on August 14-15. The main space of the festival is the procession of lanterns and lion dance in the drumming of the festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival is really an interesting and attractive playground not only for children and people of Binh Thuan but also attracts a large number of tourists to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival. This festival in Binh Thuan has set a record as one of the biggest Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam.
Hoian Ancient Town
The ancient town of Hoi An in the Mid-Autumn Festival is also an interesting place for families and visitors. When the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Hoi An became more sparkling than ever. From 17h to 22h, houses, shops, restaurants turn off the electricity and only use candles. Paper lanterns are sold along the central river.
You can rent a small boat, bring each beautiful small lantern out in the middle of the river and drop down to bring the wishes. Also in the street, there will also be a lot of entertainment activities organized for visitors to enjoy such as lion dance, singing folk songs…
Hanoi Old Quarter
In the Mid-Autumn Festival, the streets of Luong Van Can, Hang Ma, and Hang Luoc are jubilant with the colors of the shops selling a lot of folk toys such as star lights, troop pull lights, masks … these are toys are very popular with children.
Especially, every Mid-Autumn Festival, Hang Ma is a place that attracts a large number of tourists as well as Hanoians to shop and visit. On the two sides of the road, bars, lanterns, toys, masks with different shapes and colors are sold with people coming and going.
Tuyen Quang Mid-Autumn Festival
This can be said to be one of the biggest mid-autumn festivals in Vietnam and attracts a lot of domestic and foreign tourists to come here to participate in this event. A lot of activities are organized on this day such as the parade of giant light patterns passing through many streets, introducing local cuisine, … and a lot of folk games held to for visitors to join.
3 thoughts on “Mid-Autumn Festival Vietnam: What is it and how is it celebrated?”