Festivals in Vietnam are differentiated by regions, for which diversified in each province and each period of year. Annually during the autumn days, the Mid-Autumn Festival (or known as Full Moon Festival) is organized to celebrate the joy of adults and children, along splendid color of lanterns.
Mid-Autumn Festival has been celebrated in Vienam since a thousand years ago. As recorded, during the Ly dynasty, the full-moon celebration festival was held annually inside Thang Long Citadel, as gratitude to the Dragon God after a wealthy crop. The official festival day, as always, is the 15th day of August due to the lunar calendar. The festival occurs during the finest period of year, when the weather is equably cool and the full moon shines the brightest. Gradually, the mid-autumn festival is organized in every part of the country, from countryside to big cities. In addition, the children of Vietnam look forward to this occasion since they can deal out the festival fruit-cake offerings, listen to ancient tales and watch the traditional lion dance; especially, received colorful toys as gifts from the adults.
Toys for the Mid-Autumn festival, on the flow of history, even though have been through many upgraded, but still have kept its distinctive features. The toys often designed to stimulate the activities that happen during a Full-moon festival, under a childly perspective, mean for children to be able to participate in the celebration. As to be seen most regularly are star-shaped lanterns, paper lanterns, cylinder lanterns, lion heads, masks, toy figures, etc.
Previously, those toys are used to be handmade by adults using Vietnam countryside familiar materials and was given as gifts to the children of the family. For instant, star-shaped lanterns are made by assembling colorful glossy paper to the shape of a star and attached to a finely sharpened bamboo stick. Traditional masks, which made of paper mâché (many pieced-paper layers glued together to create a firm shape), are styled to become the Teu clown, Thi No (ugly woman but have a beautiful soul), or animal faces like lion, cats, pigs, water buffalos, etc. On the other hand, there are specific toys to sophisticatedly carry the hopes and expectations of parents on their children such as paper doctors, strong-mans and beautiful ladies. Other toys, from complicated metal ships, sticky rice figures, the moon watchers, cylinder shape lanterns, to simple firecrackers made by burning dried pomelo seeds, were also brought excitement to the event. Mid-Autumn festival in the past was inelegance, dearly and precious. A reunion beside a plate full of foods, sweet and fragrantly moon cakes, fairy tales under the full moon, are family-bonders which has been handed down through generations.
Nowadays, along with the development of the country, Mid-Autumn toys for children have changed quite a lot. Toys are now produced in mass with various models and firm materials which suitable not only to play with but also to be gifted. Traditional star-shaped and paper lanterns are now lighted and plays music using batteries; cylinder shaped lanterns are replaced with eye-catching flicker lights. Paper- mâché masks are transformed to a plastic version, now recruiting cartoon and movie series characters to the squad. Additionally, modern toys such as legos, superhero figures, remote control vehicles and stuffed animals are becoming popular and have their own spotlights during the season. Even so, traditional influenced toys still stand in a higher position, since only for this occasion that these items are most wanted. Since then, the paper doctors and the sticky rice figures had to draw back to the quiet corner of memories and humbly observing the moves of the festival in the new era, on the noisy and colorful merchandised streets.
The industrialization and modernization have inevitably renovated the daily basis of Vienam. Regional customs and festivals are now having a modernized frosting over the base of unfaded traditions. Therefore, no matter how innovated things are, Vietnamese people are always regarding the Mid-Autumn event, as to be home with their family. And for the children, this festival always earns their attention with new flashy toys and joyful nights under the full-moon light.
