The Mid-Autumn Festival, also the moon-watching festival, falls on the 15th day of the eight lunar month. From the Lý Dynasty, the festival started to become an important celebration in the kingdom, with such activities like ancestor worship, boat racing, water puppet and puppetry shows. All corners of the Thăng Long imperial citadel were splendidly decorated with brocade and lanterns, while residents were eager to watch the shows. According to traditional folk customs, the Mid-Autumn Festival was not only a children’s festival but also an occasion for family members to reunite and gather together.
This year, in the context of unexpected development of Covid 19, the Festival becomes more special because it returns to its true meaning as a festival of bond and love sharing. The Thăng Long - Hà Nội Heritage Conservation Centre wants to use IT in order to convey to visitors important meanings of the Mid-Autumn Festival. So children and their families can still experience a festival of reunion, safety and happiness.
On the 15th day of the eight lunar month (Rằm tháng Tám), members in the family gather together in order to prepare votive offerings to their ancestors in daytime and prepare a banquet in the evening. Placed in the most important position in the banquet is a paper doctoral laureate or a stick-fighter; there are also baked pies (bánh nướng), sticky rice cakes (bánh dẻo), other autumn productslike flattened young stick rice (cốm), grapefruit, persimmon, custard-apple, pomegranate, banana,and two dogs made of grape-fruit. Besides, minced snail (giò ốc) stuffed in ginger leaves andraw grass carp (gỏi cá trắm) are served withWest Lake liquor, evoking autumn flavour. The most attractive to children are various toys, such as lanterns, drums, lion heads, metal ships, and colourful flour animals. The banquet expresses the family love and bond as well as the wish for good luck, peace and children’s success.
Inspired by the full moon, our ancestors conveyed their sentiments in round cakes called “Nguyệt bính”, “Nguyệt đoàn” or Mid-Autumn cakes. The cakes express the aspiration for well-being and happiness in the ambiance of reunion.With main ingredients of natural products like lotus seeds, gourd seeds, melon seeds, lard, lemon leaves, green bean, rice flour,the bánh nướng and bánh dẻo cakesare a perfect mixture of sweet flavours. On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, people take the cakes and drink tea, admiring the beauty of the full moon andfeeling the warmth of family love.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is dominated witha jubilant and joyful atmosphere. Every family and all people are eager to make mid-autumn lanterns for children to carry in the full-moon night. Lanterns, in various nice shapes (star, rabbit, spinning lanterns), shine brightly in the mid-autumn night. Holding a brightly-lit lantern in their hand each, children call each other for a stroll around the village. In the light of the autumn moon, they are excited to carry lanterns while singing and dancing. After that, children and their grandparents and parents will enjoy the banquet and pray for the best things to the family.