(Dantri) - The Mid-Autumn Festival atmosphere has arrived and can be seen on the roads and in towns all over Vietnam.The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, which is usually around late September or early October according to the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake, a long-standing icon of the festival and there are many different varieties.
When a Mid-Autumn Festival gets near, teachers from the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organisation and other social organisations become busy preparing so that children living in places like Tay Village, Nghia Do Commune, Bao Yen District, Lao Cai Province can celebrate as well.
Although there are challenges, the annual Mid-Autumn Festival here is always exciting and joyful.
Children are very eager to celebrate the festival. Lion dancers hit the streets and alleys of the commune to warm up the Mid-Autumn Festival’s spirit one week prior to the festival.
Local children don’t have enough money to buy colourful toys or star-shaped lanterns as children in the cities do. They often make star-shaped lanterns themselves, happy for what they have and what they can make.
Annually, on the evening of the festival, pupils gather at their school and queue up to conduct the procession of star-shaped lanterns around the village. The whole village becomes sparkling and is filled with laughter and talk. After the procession, they return to the school to enjoy moon cakes, candies and fruits together.
In a very disadvantaged commune, with love and care from parents, teachers and social organisations, children still enjoy a warm and happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
Hue’s Mid-Autumn Festival
It’s very easy to realise that Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching in Hue because of the joyful and busy atmosphere of factories making paper lion heads, drums and moon cakes.
Doan Van Trai, owner of Thu Dong lion shop on Phan Dang Luu Road, Hue said, “We start making paper lion heads from the 6th to 8th months of the lunar calendar every year. It requires a lot of effort and times to make a paper lion head.”
His shop has produced this kind of product for over 50 years. During the festival, his shop is always full of customers.
It takes 2 or 3 days to make a big lion. They can make 2 or 3 smaller ones within a day. A small lion for children costs about VND30,000-40,000 ($1.5-2.1). A lion with medium size costs about VND250,000-300,000 ($12.8-15). A big one costs about VND600,000 ($30).
Many drum shops on Le Duan and Nhat Le roads are also finishing their products to supply to toy shops in local areas and neighbouring provinces.
Nguyen Phuoc Quy Thanh, owner of Bao Thanh cake shop said, “Every year, at the beginning of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, I start making moon cakes for the Mid- Autumn festival. I do not use chemicals to preserve the cakes. We sell to customers here right after the cakes are made.”
“The price of our moon cakes this year is higher than last year. However, our price is still much cheaper than famous brands such as Kinh Do, Huu Nghi or Bibica. Many customers and companies have come to buy our cakes,” added Thanh.
Luu Phuoc Hung, owner of Phuoc Hung cake shop said, “Our shop does not spend money on advertising or transportation and our workforce expenditure is cheap. Thus, our product price is low. I expect to earn over VND100,000 million ($5,072) this year.”
In Thanh Hoa Province, 120 orphan and disadvantaged children with excellent study results were granted bicycles on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Ho Mau Ngoat, Vice-Party Secretary of Thanh Hoa Province commended their learning achievements and encouraged them to continue making effort towards their studies.
