Published:  09:59 Wednesday - November 16, 2011

"The story of Tam and Cam" is Vietnam's fairy tale under the category of magic fairy tale, reflecting the conflicts in the family, the struggle between the good and the evil, the good dreams to win the evil ones.

From the beginning of the month, people have prepared for the festival with colorful and different shape lanterns. Moon cakes or mid-autumn cakes are also prepared along with the various toys for children. There are many traditional toys that the most typical ones are star lantern, paper doctor human, animal shape lantern, etc. Children carry the lanterns walk from streets to streets in the funny sounds of their singing every evening.

When the principle time of the festival comes, there are groups of lion dance with crowded drums and cymbals. In this occasion, to enjoy the beauty of the moon, there are many activities are organized. Adults and children have their own ways of celebrating.

Competition of feast and lantern

In the day of Mid-Autumn, people make the feast with moon shape cakes, lanterns and flowers decorating, and jubilant dancing. There are many competitions to make feast and make cakes among the women. Children would also have competition in showing their lanterns, and lantern processing. Many families place the feast for children and there was often a paper doctor human in the highest location of the feast, and the fruits and flowers surround all. After enjoy the feast and moon, children will eat what they have in the feast while it is on the late evening.

Folk songs singing contest

There is a custom of singing contest in the North of Vietnam. Two groups of women and men sing and compete with each other. They also play an instrument made from a drum and a string above the surface of the drum to create the rhythm of the song. The songs may be already written or created promptly by the competitors. The competition would be happy most of the time, but it also could aggressive when there is a hard riddle.

Lion dance

In the occasion of Mid-autumn, there is a custom of Lion dance. People often practice the lion dance in the 14th and 15th of the eighth lunar month. There is often a person holding the lion head and a person holding the flag to dance along with the rhythm of the dance. The head of the lion has a long tail made from red cloth. There are also cymbals, five color flag, and a person holding a stick to support the lion head. The group of lion dance is ahead, and the adults and children are behind. In these days, there are often some money awards for children in the family hanging on the height for the lion to catch.

Children often go to the lion dance early, since 7th and 8th of eight lunar month, they just come to have fun but not want to catch the awards. However, the people love them, and they still give them money.

Meanings of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-autumn Festival of Vietnamese has many different aspects from Mid-autumn Festival of Chinese people. According to Vietnamese's custom, parents often prepare banquets for their children to rejoin the Mid-Autumn Festival, buy or do many lantern by candles to hang them in their houses as well as give them for their children to joy traditional games in the Mid-Autumn party.

Banquets for the Mid-Autumn Festival party consist of moon cakes, candies, sugar canes, pomeloes and some other fruits. Therefore, their loves for family is also strengthened and tightened. Also in this occasion, people buy moon cakes, tea, wine to worship the ancestors, relatives and other benefactors. It is the good chance for them to express their gratitude to grandparents and their loves to each other.

Moon cakes and tea

In the Mid-Autumn Festival , children have the chance to learn the song " Ruoc Den Thang Tam" pleasantly: " Tet Trung Thu we bring lanterns to go out, I bring lanterns around the streets. I'm pleased with lanterns in hands. I dance in the moon lights. .."

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a meaningful custom. It is the meaning of caring, gratitude and love and it is necessary to promote the great meanings.