Mid-Autumn Festival: Origins and Significance Unveiled

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of family reunions, deeply rooted in Vietnamese tradition. It carries intriguing origins and meanings. However, not everyone is familiar with the mystical tales and customs of this festival. Let's journey back in time, explore the folk traditions, and decipher the meaningful customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival together.

1. Explaining the origins and significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival

For thousands of years, as autumn arrives, people eagerly welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. Under the bright moonlight, families gather to share meals, engage in conversations, and make wishes for a peaceful life. However, not everyone is aware of the true origins and meanings behind this festival.

Exploring the Tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival (Image Source)

Many believe that Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival has Chinese origins. However, delving into folklore reveals distinct stories and customs between the two cultures.
While the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the love story of Chang'e and Hou Yi, Vietnam weaves tales of Cuoi and Hang.

Understanding Mid-Autumn Festival Customs in China (Image Source)

Or, from Chinese historical tales during the Tang Dynasty, the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is linked to Lady Yang, one of the four great beauties shaping the nation's history. Due to her captivating beauty, she was believed to enchant Emperor Tang Xuanzong, leading to his neglect of state affairs. To express endless grief, Emperor Tang had to offer a white silk ribbon to his consort, fostering a sorrowful atmosphere in the imperial court. Touched by this eternal lament, celestial maidens descended on the brightest autumn moon night, reuniting the emperor with Lady Yang. After returning to the mortal realm, he instituted the Mid-Autumn Festival to commemorate his beloved consort.

Artwork depicting the tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam (Image Source)

In Vietnam, historical records suggest that the Mid-Autumn Festival was organized during the reign of the Ly dynasty in the imperial capital Thang Long. It was a time when King Ly wanted to express gratitude to the Dragon deity for bringing rain, ensuring a bountiful harvest, and prosperity for his people.

2. Explaining the Mid-Autumn Festival Tradition of Lantern Play

The Mid-Autumn Festival is incomplete without the vibrant, multicolored lanterns illuminating under the golden moonlight. For the Chinese, hanging lanterns in front of homes symbolizes good luck and peace.

Some lanterns take the form of floating flower lanterns; after writing wishes on them, they are set adrift on the river, carrying prayers far away.

Floating flower lanterns released during the Mid-Autumn Festival night (Image Source)

Speaking of Chinese cultural aspects during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Kong Ming lantern is an integral part. These lanterns are usually large, adorned with paper, and have a central candle. After writing wishes on the lantern, it is released into the sky. Under the golden moonlight, the lanterns collectively ascend, illuminating the sky like sparkling stars, conveying the wishes of the people to the spiritual deities.

Kong Ming lanterns brightly illuminate the night sky on the full moon (Image Source)

For the Vietnamese, Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns are specifically crafted for children's enjoyment during the festival. These lanterns come in various shapes such as flowers, fish, bears, etc., creating a beautiful and radiant spectacle on the Mid-Autumn night.

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns showcasing a multitude of delightful shapes (Image Source)

Vietnamese lanterns are meticulously handcrafted from bamboo and paper, adorned with unique embroidered patterns on the outside. These lanterns represent the warmth and happiness of family life.

3. Unraveling the tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival moon gazing

During the Moon Festival, a majority of Chinese people flood the streets to marvel at the beauty of the full moon. The moment the moon rises is immensely sacred to many, symbolizing the unity of family members.

The full moon illuminates the night sky with its radiant glow (Image Source)

In Vietnam, the moon holds significant cultural importance in a country rooted in rice cultivation. The full moon on the 8th lunar month marks a time when the sky and earth are at their most beautiful, the climate is cool, and the moonlight illuminates every landscape. It's also a leisurely period, allowing people to comfortably appreciate the moonlit scenery and immerse themselves in the natural surroundings.

After gathering together to break the festive feast, families often gather on balconies or seek elevated spots to marvel at the full moon. Under the moonlight, parents often share the legend of Mr. Cuoi sitting under the banyan tree with their children.

4. Decoding the tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival feasting

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, every Vietnamese family displays an array of mooncakes, candies, sugar cane, apples, pomelos, watermelons, and more, each table uniquely adorned according to family traditions.

The Mid-Autumn Festival feast table is beautifully adorned (Image Source)

As the moon rises, everyone comes together to break the festive feast and savor the flavors of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival feast table is set to worship the moon and pay respects to heaven and earth, seeking blessings for a prosperous life, abundant harvests, and family unity.

5. Decoding the tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival Lion Dance

The lively sound of drums fills the streets alongside the enchanting Lion Dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival night (Image Source)

Mid-Autumn Festival streets come alive with the beat of drums and captivating Lion Dances. While the Chinese perform lion dances during the Lunar New Year, the Vietnamese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with this traditional dance. Usually held on the 14th and 15th nights, the Lion Dance troupe, led by a performer donning the lion head, showcases graceful movements synchronized with the drumbeat. The lion symbolizes good fortune, making the Mid-Autumn Festival Lion Dance a wish for prosperity in every home.

6. Unraveling the tradition of cutting mooncakes

Mooncakes, an indispensable flavor of family reunion day (Image Source)

Mooncakes seem to have become a delicacy exclusive to the Mid-Autumn Festival, representing the unity and harmony of families. Made from wheat flour, lotus seed paste, and sugar, mooncakes symbolize family togetherness and harmony.

Usually, mooncakes are cut into pieces matching the number of family members. The more evenly the pieces, the happier and more harmonious the family is believed to be.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a long-standing tradition not only in Vietnam but also in other Asian countries. After unraveling the Mid-Autumn Festival customs, you've gained some insights into the origins and significance of this family reunion day.

Explore more:

• Top 10 places to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hanoi
• 6 ideal Mid-Autumn Festival attractions in Saigon
• Experience the vibrant Lantern Street in District 5 on Mid-Autumn night