{"id":478,"date":"2021-09-20T14:46:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T14:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/?p=478"},"modified":"2021-09-20T14:46:20","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T14:46:20","slug":"mid-autumn-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/mid-autumn-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Mid-Autumn Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OrfFHSBVU7E<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the full moon again. Step outside this evening to view the round and bright moon. Better yet, set a table in a yard and sip some tea while munching on moon cakes and watching the moon with your loved ones. Yes, it\u2019s a special time of the year, especially for children in Vietnam. It\u2019s T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> (Mid-Autumn Festival).<\/p>\n

The celebration of T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> is always on the full moon of August in the lunar calendar. In other words, it\u2019s on ng\u00e0y<\/em> r\u1eb1m th\u00e1ng t\u00e1m \u00e2m l\u1ecbch<\/em> (15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar), when the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest of the year. This year it falls on Tuesday, September 21 in the Gregorian calendar.<\/p>\n

T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> in Vietnam is also known as T\u1ebft Nhi \u0110\u1ed3ng<\/em> (Children\u2019s Festival) or a lesser-known name, H\u1ed9i Hoa \u0110\u0103ng<\/em> (Lantern Festival). This festival is particular to children. The highlights are the colorful lanterns of different shapes and colors, the moon cakes, the Lion dance, and the children\u2019s parades. It\u2019s an inclusive festival for everyone. Children have fun with the parade to show off their lanterns and other crafts, while adults have fun eating moon cakes along with friends or family members and watching the children play.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to remember when T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> is because the signs are everywhere on the street weeks before the events, with shops bursting with lanterns, masks, and moon cakes for sale. Although the main celebration is on the evening of ng\u00e0y<\/em> r\u1eb1m th\u00e1ng t\u00e1m \u00e2m l\u1ecbch<\/em>, children can\u2019t wait and start milling around the neighborhood with their lanterns to show off what they got from the store or made their selves with paper days before the event.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with some common vocabulary that you will hear during T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu.<\/em><\/p>\n

VOCABULARY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Vietnamese<\/strong><\/td>\nEnglish<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em><\/td>\nMid-Autumn festival<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u1ebft<\/em> Nhi \u0110\u1ed3ng\/ T\u1ebft Thi\u1ebfu Nhi<\/em><\/td>\nChildren\u2019s festival<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L\u1ed3ng<\/em> \u0111\u00e8n Trung Thu<\/em><\/td>\nMid-Autumn Lantern<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R\u01b0\u1edbc l\u1ed3ng \u0111\u00e8n<\/em><\/td>\nLantern parade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M\u00faa L\u00e2n<\/em><\/td>\nLion dance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B\u00e1nh<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em><\/td>\nMoon cake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B\u00e1nh<\/em> d\u1ebbo<\/em><\/td>\nSticky cake (like mochi)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B\u00e1nh<\/em> n\u01b0\u1edbng<\/em><\/td>\nBaked cake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B\u00e1nh<\/em> th\u1eadp c\u1ea9m<\/em><\/td>\nCombination Cake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00d4ng<\/em> Tr\u0103ng<\/em><\/td>\nMr. Moon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ch\u1ecb<\/em> H\u1eb1ng Nga<\/em><\/td>\nMiss Hang Nga (legendary Moon Goddess)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ch\u00fa<\/em> Cu\u1ed9i<\/em><\/td>\nMr. Cuoi (legendary figure)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C\u00e2y<\/em> \u0111a<\/em><\/td>\nBanyan tree<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

L\u1ed2NG<\/strong> \u0110\u00c8N TRUNG THU (MID-AUTUMN LANTERN<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every child will have his\/her own l\u1ed3ng \u0111\u00e8n<\/em> to go r\u01b0\u1edbc<\/em> l\u1ed3ng \u0111\u00e8n<\/em>. L\u1ed3ng \u0111\u00e8n<\/em> come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and are commonly made with bamboo frames wrapped with cellophane or other paper. I would say the most popular shape is the star, then fish, butterfly, rabbit, chicken, or other animal shapes. Inside the lantern is a place to hold a small wax candle. The children light their candle and walk in the parade. Needless to say, many children cry wildly when his\/her lantern catches fire and burns from careless handling.<\/p>\n

B\u00c1NH TRUNG THU (MOON CAKES)<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the children get to pick the colorful lanterns, the adults pick the different types of B\u00e1nh<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em>. There are two types: b\u00e1nh<\/em> d\u1ebbo<\/em> and b\u00e1nh n\u01b0\u1edbng<\/em>. Both have a round or square shape. For children, there are some animal shapes. Most common is the mini baked pig shape cake. Both b\u00e1nh<\/em> d\u1ebbo<\/em> and b\u00e1nh n\u01b0\u1edbng<\/em> come with different types of filling, including mung bean paste, lotus seeds, ferment-salted egg yolks, and nuts. My favorite is b\u00e1nh<\/em> th\u1eadp c\u1ea9m<\/em> with the combination of sweet and salty filling ingredients. In general, they all are super sweet. Thus, they\u2019re good to munch with a cup of warm tea.<\/p>\n

MID-AUTUMN<\/strong> ACTIVITIES AND CHILDREN POPULAR SONGS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The spirit of T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> is expressed through the lantern parades, lion dances, and music. On this occasion, you would hear kids singing some popular children\u2019s songs on television programs, or while doing a casual parade in the neighborhood. Almost all children know the song \u201cTh\u1eb1ng Cu\u1ed9i<\/em>\u201d (Mr. Cuoi) or \u201cR\u01b0\u1edbc \u0110\u00e8n Th\u00e1ng T\u00e1m<\/em>\u201d (August Lantern Parade), or \u201c\u00d4ng Tr\u0103ng Xu\u1ed1ng Ch\u01a1i<\/em>\u201d (Mr. Moon is Coming Down to Play). Hearing them every year while growing up in Vietnam, it always brings back happy memories of T\u1ebft<\/em> Trung Thu<\/em> when I hear them again. Indeed, those mid-autumn tunes are bouncing in my head as I\u2019m writing this blog. Let me share them with you via these YouTube videos.<\/p>\n