How do Vietnam and other countries around the world celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the countries that celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival on a large scale in Asia. In Vietnam, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a major holiday closely associated with children. During this time, families prepare trays of five kinds of fruit to offer to the ancestors, then gather to enjoy a feast and hold lantern parades. In Vietnam, this holiday is not simply a family reunion festival but is also considered a children's festival.

Traditionally, parents buy gifts and folk toys such as star-shaped lanterns, masks, drums, lion dance costumes, etc., to give to their children and grandchildren to play and carry lanterns on the moonlit night. During these days, mooncakes are an indispensable part of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Baked and soft mooncakes are also distinctive features of the Mid-Autumn flavor.

Vietnam also places great importance on the offerings for the full moon festival. The offering tray includes five types of fruit, symbolizing the five elements. In addition, there will be traditional baked and sticky rice cakes with various flavors representing earth and sky.

Korea

In Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival, known as Chuseok (meaning "autumn night," the night of the most beautiful moon of the year), lasts for three days (from the 14th to the 16th of the 8th lunar month). During this time, Koreans return to their hometowns, reunite with their families, perform ancestral worship rituals, visit ancestral graves, and exchange gifts. They give thanks to their ancestors and pray for a bountiful harvest and a prosperous life.

Koreans have their own special rice cake for this occasion called Songpyeon. This cake is shaped like a crescent moon or half-moon, not square or round like in other countries. It's made from rice flour, mung beans, sugar, and pine needles. The cakes come in a variety of beautiful colors. People wear Hanbok (traditional Korean clothing), eat traditional dishes like songpyeon, pan-fried meatballs, mung bean cakes, and drink sindoju (Korean rice wine).

China

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four major holidays in China, a time for family reunions and a "reunion" meal. According to legend, the Chinese often drink wine and admire the moon on this day, hence it's also called the Moon-Viewing Festival. On Mid-Autumn night, besides eating and chatting, the Chinese also observe other customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, releasing floating lanterns, lighting paper lanterns, solving riddles, and performing lion dances.

The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival treat in China is the mooncake, a round pastry symbolizing completeness and fulfillment. Chinese mooncakes are very similar to Vietnamese ones, with a thin crust and fillings such as lotus seeds, mung beans, and salted egg yolks. Each region of China has variations of this traditional pastry depending on local tastes.

Activities organized during this special occasion include writing good wishes on lanterns, praying for health, a bountiful harvest, marriage, love, and success in studies. In some rural areas, locals light lanterns that float into the sky or release them onto rivers, hoping their prayers will come true.

Japan

In Japan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Tsukimi or Otsukimi, meaning the moon-viewing festival. This tradition was introduced to Japan 1,000 years ago. Otsukimi aims to honor the moon in autumn, when it is at its fullest and most perfect. The festival reflects, to some extent, the aesthetic and nature-oriented perspective of Japan.

This holiday celebrates the autumn moon, the time when the moon is at its fullest according to Japanese belief. During this holiday, Japanese people admire the moon, enjoy traditional food, and participate in fun games.

Instead of mooncakes, the traditional Japanese food for this festival includes sweet potatoes, chestnuts, various types of noodles such as soba and ramen, and especially tsukimi dango (rice dumplings). Tsukimi dango, symbolizing the moon, are made from glutinous rice flour and honey, and are small and round. People also wear traditional clothing and bring offerings to shrines. At home, they display pampas grass, a symbol of good luck and happiness.

Nowadays, the Japanese no longer use the lunar calendar, but they still celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with great fanfare. They admire the moon while enjoying traditional dishes. They arrange large trays of sticky rice cakes on their doorsteps, leisurely gazing at the moon, chatting, and eating. Japanese children also participate in the festival, carrying carp-shaped lanterns.

Thailand

In Thailand, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called the Moon Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Thai people value this festival highly, so on the night of the full moon, everyone gathers around the altar of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and the Eight Immortals to pray.

The offerings of the Thai people will include peaches and mooncakes to wish longevity to Quan Yin and other deities. Thai mooncakes are also shaped like peaches, symbolizing fulfillment and family reunion according to their beliefs.

Singapore

In Singapore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month each year. This is when the moon is high in the sky, and children sing, dance, and enjoy moon-gazing and feasting. The streets are decorated with lanterns and symbols representing the festival.

Singapore is a popular tourist destination, and locals never miss an opportunity to attract visitors during this holiday season. They decorate Orchard Road – a shopping paradise, the riverside, Chinatown, the Chinese Garden, and many other locations to welcome tourists from around the world.

Sengkang Square is considered one of the most vibrant places to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. People gather in large numbers to experience the fun games. It's also an opportunity for the Chinese community in Singapore to showcase their rich and diverse culture in Chinatown.

Cambodia

In Cambodia, the Mid-Autumn Festival takes place later, on October 15th each year. This celebration, called Ok Om Pok, is primarily held in the evening. Cambodians also hold a lantern-releasing competition on Mid-Autumn Day to send their prayers and beliefs to the Moon God.

During this festival, in the morning, Cambodians offer sacrifices to the moon goddess with offerings such as cassava soup, sugarcane juice, and flattened rice. In the evening, they offer flattened rice cakes, bananas, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, cassava soup, and other offerings.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao