>>> Mid-autumn festival plays a vital role in Vietnamese culture. To celebrate this meaningful tradition, we have many activities and good food to enjoy.  Let's see how the locals do it and enjoy the mid-autumn party like a Vietnamese! 

Once you have ever joined the real celebration of Vietnamese Mid-autumn festival, you will find it hard to forget the images of lion dances, worshipping platform full of fruits and special cakes, traditional star-shaped lanterns, etc.  The activities of Mid-Autumn festival, also known as "Festival of Moon sighting", were illustrated on the surface of Ngoc Lu drum. In history, the mid-Autumn Festival was officially held by the Ly Dynasty in 1121 at the citadel Thang Long with exciting activities such as boat racing, water puppetry and lantern parade. Till the Le - Trinh Dynasty, the Mid - Autumn Festival became a great celebration in the palace.



Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the agricultural civilization of Vietnam. It takes place on August 15th of Lunar Calendar. This is the time for people to celebrate and have fun after harvesting. On that day, people worship their ancestors in the morning, and in the evening, we enjoy specialties and join exciting social activities.

Below is how a traditional Mid-autumn festival should be:

Worshiping platform

A traditional Vietnamese Mid-autumn party worshipping platform is usually set up in the yard, where full moon shines the brightest on it. On the platform, cookies, cakes (such as sticky rice cake, mooncake, etc), fruits (such as green grapefruit, dragon fruit, sugar cane, banana pepper, watermelon, etc) are laid. There is a cotton dog made of grapefruit with its round eyes are grapes in the center. People also usually add some more pork-shaped or carp-shaped vegetarian cakes at the “feet” of the “dog”. Mooncakes and fruits are placed around. 



Nowadays, preparing a good Mid-autumn platform has been much easier as you can buy all these things at Big C. We sell everything from mooncakes to fruits and lanterns. Diverse choices, ensured quality, frequent promotions and many other services in stores to guarantee your shopping experience. You can find famous brands such as Kinh Do, Bibica, local specialties and other imported fruits.
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Lantern Parade

Vietnamese traditional lanterns are inexpensive to buy and easy to play. The most popular ones have the shape of star, butterfly, flower, elephant, horse, etc., which are lightened by wax candles. You can buy mid-autumn lanterns at the nearest Big C (find it here). By tradition, the kids hold their lanterns to go around their living places, making the whole area lightened. Nowadays, with the development of society, there are also plastic and electronic lanterns. However, the images of the traditional paper lantern cannot be replaced. People usually have a contest of handmade lanterns. The winner is the one who makes the most beautiful and unique lantern. >>> Click here to discover all promotions.

Lion dance

The lion symbolizes the luck, prosperity for families and organizations. Mid-Autumn cannot be completed without the drumbeat of lion dance. According to the old custom, the Lion dance crew dances in front of people's houses, attracting attention. The dance is a combination of fast and slow moves, including the sleep and fighting of Lions. The landlord will "challenge" the crew by hanging the gifts high above. The crew has to show their skills to achieve the target and end up in applause. This is also the most exciting part of the performance. The dance ends by “goodbye” moves of the Lions.


  

Step to enjoy traditional Mid-Autumn specialties:

When the traditional Mid-Autumn specialties are prepared, and the moon reaches its fullest and shines the brightest, people gather around for the party. Adults will take the mooncakes and fruits from the altar, share them with their children and all the people to enjoy. The elder enjoys mooncakes with tea, talks, observe the moon, etc. Children will join the lantern parade, play games, eating and singing songs together such as "Chiec den ong sao", "Ruoc den thang Tam”. 

Everyone has his own memory of the Mid-Autumn festival that lasts long. Life may change as time goes by, but the value and meaning of tradition remain. Let’s take the Mid-Autumn festival as a chance for family reunion. Big C wish you have a meaningful and memorable festival this year!