“Reunion at Mid-Autumn Festival” tells the story of the traditional cosy Mid-Autumn Festival full of love between family members. Photo by the organizers
The Mid-Autumn Festival takes place on the full moon day of August every year. In traditional folk customs, Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a special day for children but also an occasion for family members to gather and reunite.
Given the complicated COVID-19 pandemic this year, the Mid-Autumn Festival became more special because it has fully demonstrated family love and affection. During the social distancing time for preventing and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, Thang Long Heritage Conservation Center – Hanoi wishes to convey the important meanings of the Mid-Autumn Festival to visitors in the online form of an exhibition. The exhibition “Reunion at Mid-Autumn Festival” helps children and their loved ones experience a safe and joyful Mid-Autumn Festival together.
The online exhibition “Reunion at Mid-Autumn Festival” features images and stories about the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival with a cosy and full-of-love Mid-Autumn Festival party, and amazing Mid-Autumn Festival toys that parents and grandparents often give to their children as a gift. The exhibition displays the traditional Mid-Autumn party tray of Hanoians in the early 20th century by paintings and notes of Henri Oger, Nguyen Tuan, Phan Ke Binh, Vu Bang, and other authors.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival party tray of each family, the paper doctor is placed in the most solemn position, wishing the children to study well and succeed. The moon cake are Banh deo, Banh nuong, Banh To Chau, Banh dau xanh (cake with green beans), Banh nan (cake with fruits or animals made from the colorfully dyed dough), and autumn products such as green rice flakes, persimmons, custard apple, banana, grapefruit, chestnut, etc.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival evening, the whole family members gather around the party tray, children attend lantern parade and lantern contest, watch lion dance, and play folk games, adults enjoy the moon, eat cake, drink tea, or have West Lake lotus wine while eating boiled snails with ginger leaves, dipped in ginger sauce, or snails stuffed with meat and ginger leaf, people in some places go to listen to Hat trong quan (alternate songs with drum accompaniments) on such occasion.
The exhibition displays the traditional Mid-Autumn party tray of Hanoians in the early 20th century. Photo by the Organizer.
In addition, the exhibition will introduce visitors to a variety of Mid-Autumn Festival toys that were restored in the ancient style by the talented artisans from the old quarters and Thang Long craft villages. According to materials of Quai Branly Museum (France) or French School of the Far East, in the early 20th century, Mid-Autumn Festival toys in Hanoi were extremely rich, made from many different materials such as paper mache, soil, flour, wood, tin, cotton and cellophane.
Accessing the online exhibition, visitors can watch the videos in which Historian Le Van Lan tells about the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival: The Reunion at Mid-Autumn Festival in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic; Hanoian’s custom of making Mid-autumn feast with special stories such as “Mr. La Vong is fishing”, “Doctor is returning to his village”, “The filial son”, “The custom of lantern parade”, “The Hanoian’s custom of enjoying the moon”, etc. Besides, viewers have a chance to learn about the art of making swans from cotton, a special Mid-Autumn Festival toy of Hanoians, under the instruction of artisan Quach Thi Bac.
The exhibition takes place in the online form from September 19, 2021 at the website hoangthanhthanglong.vn and trungbayonline.hoangthanhthanglong.vn.
Ngoc Ha