Entry #4: TET TRUNG THU
Hi, welcome to my blog. I want to introduce to you one of my favorite holidays in Vietnam: Tet Trung Thu, which is also known as mid-autumn festival, moon cake festival or moon festival. Tet Trung Thu is held on the fifteenth of eight Luna month with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October on the calendar that we use now. This festival is celebrated in many Asian countries with different meanings. In Vietnam, it is the time for families to get together, especially for children to be doted on.
Different parts of Vietnam have various activities to celebrate for this festival. I want to lead you to my hometown to see it. My hometown is a small countryside town. Ninety nine percent of the population is Catholic; therefore, when it comes to this festival, we have our own way to celebrate. My church is divided into four areas which are named after four canonical Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Each area will have different lions with different colors. One month before the festival time, all the lions will dance to every house in town to bring luck, fortune and prosperity to the family. People will give the lions "lucky" money as a sign of gratitude. Some people just give the money directly to the lion, but other people make the lion really work hard to get it. They put the money really high; therefore, in order to get the money, one or two people have to stand on top of one another, and the lion is on the top to reach that high. Watching lion dance becomes more exciting and thrilling. The money is collected and used to buy little presents (usually cakes or candy) for children. It is like Halloween in the US, but lions go collect money instead of children go get candies. When lions go around the town, some kids will follow them house after house. Happy children, mighty lions, and throbbed drums create an excited environment for the whole town.
When it comes closer to Tet Trung Thu’s time, parents will spend time with children to make lanterns. Traditional lanterns are made of bamboo-wood to create simple shapes like stars, circles, squares…and are covered by sheer color papers. Inside the lantern, in the middle of the bottom, there’s a little tiny candle holder where the children can put small candles to light up the lantern. Nowadays, at the store, people can easily buy all kinds of lanterns that look nicer and fancier than the handmade ones, so it’s hard to see handmade lanterns anymore. The children are happy when they have their lanterns, so they start lighting up the lanterns and playing every night while singing their special song.
On the day of Tet Trung Thu, there will be a special mass in the late afternoon at 5pm. After the mass, all children will receive presents that are bought from lucky money when the lions dance. Then they get together in the front yard of the church to see all four lions from four areas dancing with each other in an excited beat of the drum. After that, children will follow their area’s lion to parade through the streets with their colorful lanterns. All activities last until 8pm, and then they go home to enjoy their dinner. There’s a special dessert for the Tet Trung Thu: moon cakes. Traditional cakes are made with lotus seeds, green beans, and an egg yolk that represents the moon. Nowadays there are so many varieties of favors: mix nuts, green tea, mango…People eat cakes, drink tea, enjoy the brightest moon in the year, and watch the kids playing traditional games like “hide and seek”, matching lanterns.
Every holiday has its own meaning, but Tet Trung Thu is really special. It’s the time for family reunion, and for the children to be pampered with all fun activities. The best way to understand the country is to take part in its holiday, and Tet Trung Thu is one of those impressive holidays.
The pictures from the website:
https://vietnamteachingjobs.com/tet-trung-thu-festival-vietnam/
I have never heard about this tradition before. This sounds like s very fun tradition! it is definitely a very good way to spend time with children.
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