Full-moon festival is colorful

(Cinet)- Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteen day of the eighth lunar month. It is one of the most famous festivals and it is a traditional celebration for Vietnamese children.

 In the cycle of seasons, in which alternate the yang (male) and yin (female) principles, the mid-autumn festival is celebrated around the autumn equinox, at a time when the yin (cold, darkness, the moon) begins to get the better of the yang ( warmth,light, the sun). On that night, the sky is crystal clear, the moon is a perfect circle of unearthly splendour.

The dragon, like the moon, got pride of place because it brought rain to the ricefields, and protected the important autumn haverst. The dragon performed during the festival had lost its ritual  meaning. The procession featured pennants of five different collors, lanterns in the shape of various fruits and annimals, and a unicorn’s head to which was attached “tail” of red fabric.

On this day, the adults and the parents prepare many different foods - Moon cakes, candies, biscuits, jellies, and fruit, such as grapefruit, longan fruit, bananas, apples, mango, etc. All of them are designed with fun symbols, for example: dog, cat, mouse,ect.

The Mid-Autumn celebration is an opportunity for members of the family to visit together and share together everything in their year. The young generation express their gratitude to the old generation. The parents show their love for their children. Because the autumn is the time of the beginning of the new school year, so the adults and parents give gifts to the children. And the teenagers receive a lot of presents with many good luck wishes before the hard school time. The symbol PhD which is made from paper represents good wishes for success to pupils. For others, because the traditional time to have this festival is usually after harvesting the crops, it is as the congratulation for the full harvest.

On this occasion, Vietnamese parents tell their children fairy tales and serve moon cakes and other special treats under the silvery moon. A favourite folklore is about a carp that wanted to become a dragon. The carp worked and worked and eventually transformed itself into a dragon. This is the story behind the mythical symbol, “ca hoa rong”. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can become whatever they want to be.

Nowadays, although some of the traditional toys have been replaced by modern toys, the meaning and the performance has been kept and developed. It is certain that the Mid-Autumn day is important and famous for Vietnamese people. Everyone wants to join in it. And it really is a good example of the traditional culture of the Vietnamese.