Tet Trung Thu: Mid- Autumn (Children’s) Festival

Drums, dragons, lions, as well as other animals, begin to filter into the area weeks before the festival. Children practice their performances and the sound of drums permeate most evenings. Costumes begin to appear in the shops and street vendors start hocking their mooncakes. By the actual date, it becomes difficult to walk and impossible to drive because throngs of children are performing in the streets. Tet Trung Thu or The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the harvest or children’s festival, takes place on the 14th and 15th day of the eighth lunar month, usually falling in September and it marks the end of the final rice harvest for the year. The centuries-old festival is a chance for families to celebrate a good yield, spend time with their children, chase away bad spirits and honor the moon. The groups of children range from just a pocket of neighborhood kids to highly coordinated groups which include pyrotechnical dragons. Each group carries lanterns symbolizing animals, the moon and stars and are accompanied by dragon dancers, a moon tamer and of course drums. Wandering the streets they visit shops and homes spreading good luck. As the festival date draws nearer these performances get larger and more elaborate bringing the city to a standstill. Unlike its big brothers to the north and south, central Vietnam and Hoi An, in particular, is still rooted in tradition and families still hold onto folklore. These traditions, dating back thousands of years, are monumental to protecting health, home and most importantly family. This makes Hoi An the ideal place to experience this festival.