With only a few days left until the Mid-Autumn Festival, images of lanterns, full moons and lion dance drums have become familiar. However, in the midst of modern life, many young people are trying to relive those memories in a different way: making their own lanterns from Do paper and Vietnamese folk painting motifs.
The workshop on making lanterns made from Vietnamese folk paintings by the Magic Of Color Project (MOC) is regularly held at the Temple of Literature and Ho Van, and is also open on occasions such as Children's Day, Mid-Autumn Festival or Lunar New Year. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huu, the founder of the project, shared: "I want to create a space for young people to breathe life into traditional values, bringing folk paintings out of the glass frame and back into life." Not only stopping at the workshop, the group also organizes field tours to craft villages, as well as researches the application of folk painting images on everyday products such as cloth bags, water bottles, and interior decorative lamps.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huu, founder of Magic Of Color project
This is an activity that combines traditional handicrafts and the creative inspiration of young people, aiming to awaken the love for Vietnamese folk culture. In the workshop space, participants are guided to draw patterns and paste Do paper to create a complete lamp. These seemingly small steps require meticulousness and patience, from mixing colors to drawing folk patterns to make them original but not old.
Participants meticulously draw a herd of pigs on Do paper – a familiar image in Dong Ho folk paintings
"Unlike mass-produced lanterns, each lantern here has its own personality: some are painted with carp, some simulate lotus flowers, some are inspired by Dong Ho folk paintings such as Mouse Wedding, Yin and Yang Pig, Baby Holding Chicken..."
For many people, making lanterns is not only a craft activity, but also a way to feel and understand why old toys are so cherished. The precious thing is not in the mass-produced products, but in the atmosphere of reunion, the connection spread through each manual operation. When the lantern is completed, the light shines through the transparent layer of Do paper, creating a beauty that is both fragile and warm.
The image of a baby holding a carp – a symbol of the desire for abundance and peace – is recreated in the Do paper lantern making workshop.
Vietnamese folk paintings – from Dong Ho, Hang Trong to Kim Hoang – were once symbols of the spiritual life of the Northern countryside. But as these paintings gradually fade away, young people are trying to bring back their images, colors and spirits in new forms.
This “rebirth” does not come from large campaigns or museums, but from the needs of the community itself – especially young people, who want to experience culture with their hands instead of just listening. In a world filled with electric lights, lighting a candle in a homemade paper lantern brings a special feeling: the light is small but warm, casting folk motifs on the wall, reminiscent of moonlit nights of the past.
The brilliant brush strokes of a rooster, symbolizing vitality and abundance, are skillfully depicted on Do paper.
Folk painting lanterns made of Do paper are not just a product of nostalgia, but reflect an emerging cultural trend – a trend of reconnecting with craft, natural materials and traditional spirit.
The return of handmade lanterns is not noisy, not boisterous, but durable. It does not aim at rigid preservation, but at letting tradition revive naturally – through the hands of young people, in contemporary life.
When the streets are lit up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, somewhere there are still people quietly drawing old folk images on Do paper. Amidst the electric lights, perhaps it is those small candles that remind us that tradition will not be lost, as long as someone is willing to relight it.
