中秋节 (Zhōngqiū Jié)(中秋節) の 🇻🇳 ベトナム

The Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam, known as Tet Trung Thu, is uniquely focused on children, earning it the informal name of the Children's Festival. While it shares origins with the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Vietnam has developed its own distinctive traditions, imagery, and cultural meanings that reflect Vietnamese values and aesthetics.

The most iconic symbol of Tet Trung Thu is the star lantern, or den ong sao, a five-pointed red star made of cellophane stretched over a bamboo frame. Children carry these lanterns in processions through their neighborhoods on the festival night, creating a magical atmosphere of bobbing red lights. Other popular lantern shapes include fish, butterflies, and boats. The tradition of lantern processions, accompanied by drum bands of children, is one of the most charming Vietnamese customs.

Vietnamese mooncakes, or banh trung thu, come in two main varieties: baked mooncakes (banh nuong) with golden crusts, and sticky rice mooncakes (banh deo) with a soft, chewy exterior. Fillings include mung bean paste, lotus seed paste, mixed nuts and seeds, and savory versions with pork, sausage, and egg. Vietnamese mooncakes tend to be less sweet than their Chinese counterparts. Major mooncake brands like Kinh Do and Bibica dominate the market.

The festival also features lion dances, or mua lan, which parade through streets and perform at businesses and homes to bring good luck. Vietnamese lion dances have their own style distinct from Chinese performances. Families gather for meals, and children receive gifts, toys, and special treats. The legend of Cuoi, a Vietnamese woodcutter who accidentally floated to the moon while clinging to a banyan tree, is the local version of the moon story, reflecting Vietnam's own cultural imagination.

Traditional East Asian harvest festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, celebrated with mooncakes, colorful lanterns, moon-gazing gatherings, and prayers, observed in China, Vietnam, and across Asia.