Tonight as we walked through the compound to our villa, the girls clutching their bright orange lanterns from the Mid-Autumn party, we took a minute to stop and look up at the moon. After all, that's what today is all about for the Vietnamese - a celebration of the moon at its "fullest" and "roundest".
Hmmm...don't want to be a killjoy (or disrespectful!) but I must admit that it looked like any other full moon to me, but beautiful all the same.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival and sometimes the Lantern Festival or the Mooncake Festival, is officially celebrated today, the 15th day of the 8th month on the Chinese calendar.
This date is celebrated by the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese and dates back over 3,000 years. Traditionally, on this day, family and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-Autumn harvest moon, eat mooncakes and pomelo under the moon together.
There seems to be a few different versions of the stories behind the Mid-Autumn Festival, depending on which country you come from.
The Vietnamese version of the holiday recounts the legend of Cuội, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree, taking him with it to the Moon. Every year, on the mid-autumn festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội the way to Earth.
In Vietnam, Mooncakes are typically square rather than round, though round ones do exist. Besides the indigenous tale of the banyan tree, other legends are widely told including the story of the Moon Lady, and the story of the carp who wanted to become a dragon.
Aside from the moon cakes, most of the Vietnamese celebrations include dragon parades and lion dances to bring good luck and fortune.
Sadly tonight's party at our compound didn't have either, just lots of loud music, acrobats and magicians, but it was all about the kids anyway and Georgia and Mackenzie loved it.
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