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Mid-Autumn Festival holds a special place in Vietnamese traditions, eagerly anticipated by the young ones. The festive spirit is incomplete without mooncakes, sweets, tea, lanterns, and most importantly, the ceremonial feast. So, how is the Mid-Autumn feast arranged and embellished? Let's capture the charm of gracefully decorated feasts with Mytour Blog's collection of simple and visually appealing setups.
Significance of the Mid-Autumn Feast
Mid-Autumn Festival, a joyous occasion for children, brims with excitement as they parade with lanterns and revel in the feast. It's affectionately known as the Family Reunion Festival, a day for loved ones to gather in warmth, savor tea, pastries, and engage in heartfelt conversations.
From ancient times to the present, Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month every year. As this festive occasion approaches, most families prepare a Mid-Autumn feast to pay respects to ancestors and gather together. Moreover, Vietnamese people believe that meticulously arranging the Mid-Autumn feast brings prosperity to the harvest, smooth work, and favorable weather.
The Mid-Autumn feast is a symbolic prayer for smoothness in every aspect during this celebration (Source: Internet)What does a Mid-Autumn feast include?
A well-presented and eye-catching Mid-Autumn feast must include a tray of five fruits, mooncakes, sweets, and lanterns. These elements not only contribute to completing the offering to the full moon but also create a well-organized, warm atmosphere for the family.
Tray of Five Fruits
Typically, farmers harvest fruits and gather crops in the autumn, making fruits an essential part of the Mid-Autumn feast. The tray of five fruits represents abundance and prosperity, symbolizing the fruitful results of diligent agricultural work.
Additionally, the arrangement and decoration of the tray of five fruits vary based on regional traditions. However, the common feature is that the fruits are presented in a round and complete form, symbolizing integrity.
The tray of five fruits during Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes the fruitful outcomes of diligent agricultural labor (Source: Internet)Mooncakes
Mooncakes, with their characteristic round shape, symbolize completeness, harmony, and fulfillment. Mooncakes are considered special items and are indispensable on the Mid-Autumn feast as well as during family reunions. There is a wide variety of mooncakes with different fillings, but they prominently feature baked and sticky types. Additionally, flan mooncakes are a staple in some families during this current period.
Mooncakes paired with tea are an essential part of the festivities (Source: Internet)Sweet Pastries
Alongside the tray of five fruits and mooncakes, various other sweet treats such as peanut candy, sesame candy, white malt cakes, rice cakes, and more are familiar items adorning the offering table on the full moon night.
Sesame candy is a familiar treat during Mid-Autumn Festival (Source: Internet)Mid-Autumn Lanterns
An indispensable item on the Mid-Autumn feast is the lantern, specifically the star-shaped lantern. This traditional lantern, crafted from flat bamboo strips and colorful translucent paper, features evenly spaced spokes, symbolizing the harmony and balance of the five elements. The star lantern, a representation of yin and yang, stands as a timeless emblem of harmony in life.
The star-shaped lantern is an essential element for the joyous Mid-Autumn celebration (Source: Internet)Unique and Simple Mid-Autumn Feast Decor
Traditional Mid-Autumn Feast Decorations
Depending on the region, the arrangement of the tray of five fruits during Mid-Autumn Festival varies. Here are some approaches:
- Northern Style Fruit Tray: Start by preparing a clean, large dish and place a banana basket as the first item, symbolizing the protection of heaven and earth. Next, on the banana basket, add a pomelo (preferably green-skinned or aesthetically pleasing). Then, arrange colorful ripe fruits such as oranges, persimmons, and peaches around it. Additionally, based on the owner's preference, you can enhance the tray with shaped dragon fruit, pears, oranges, etc., making the fruit tray more vibrant.
Decorating the tray of five fruits in the Northern style for Mid-Autumn Festival (Source: Internet)- Central Style Fruit Tray: This style is relatively simpler. People in the Central region are less concerned with the five characteristic fruits and mostly use familiar fruits from this area such as coconut, bananas, papaya, soursop, and mangoes.
Mid-Autumn Festival fruit tray in the Central style (Source: Internet)- Southern Style Fruit Tray: Unlike the Northern tradition, in the South, bananas are not the central item. Instead, green-skinned pomelo and watermelon play key roles in the Mid-Autumn feast, placed at the center of the dish. Then, fruits like mangoes, papayas, and soursops are artfully arranged around to create an appealing presentation.
Decorating the fruit tray in the Southern style for Mid-Autumn Festival (Source: Internet)Decorating the Mid-Autumn Feast with Sweets
When adorning the Mid-Autumn feast with sweets, mooncakes with various flavors and designs catering to diverse preferences are indispensable. There are numerous ways to decorate the Mid-Autumn feast with sweets, and for a unique touch, you can opt for agar mooncakes.
Apart from mooncakes, a cup of hot tea is also an indispensable part. There are many popular tea varieties suitable for pairing with the Mid-Autumn feast adorned with sweets, such as chrysanthemum tea, lotus tea, and jasmine tea.
Decorating the feast with sweets (Source: Internet)Mid-Autumn Feast for Students
Mid-Autumn feasts for students are typically prepared for preschool and elementary school students. The ingredients include seasonal fruits, mooncakes, and decorations with traditional toys like lanterns, star-shaped lanterns, lion heads, and paper scholars. Here are some suggestions on how to decorate the Mid-Autumn feast for preschool and elementary school students that parents and teachers can consider:
- Begin the Mid-Autumn feast by arranging seasonal fruits such as apples, bananas, pomegranates, pomelos, cherries, apples, pears, grapes, guavas, watermelons, and oranges in the center of the table.
- Place mooncakes in front of the fruits, and around the feast, add various sweet cakes, candies, jellies, etc.
- For the Mid-Autumn feast for elementary school students, you can also add traditional toys like star-shaped lanterns, lion heads, or paper lanterns to create additional excitement and allure to the feast.
Decorating the feast for young students (Source: Internet)Beautiful Mid-Autumn Feast Designs
Impressive Mid-Autumn feasts need to ensure a variety of fruit choices, including mooncakes, lanterns, sweets, decorative flowers, and other ornaments. If you're unsure how to arrange the full moon feast appropriately, quickly save some simple, striking, and beautiful examples below:
Well-organized and simply decorated tray of five fruits (Source: Internet)
The meticulous and skillful artistry in arranging the feast (Source: Internet)
Unique styling of the Mid-Autumn tray of five fruits (Source: Internet)
Adorable tray of five fruits, perfect for decorating children's classrooms (Source: Internet)In general, the Mid-Autumn feast holds great significance during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. It not only contributes to the beauty of the home space but also serves as a focal point for children's classrooms. Additionally, the feast should be meticulously and delicately arranged as it symbolizes wishes for good fortune and peace. For more insights into decorating styles, well-wishes, or various Mid-Autumn lantern designs, don't forget to visit the Mytour website!
