Mid-Autumn Festival lights up Hanoi’s Old Quarter

A variety of fascinating activities will be organized to bring meaningful experiences to visitors, the locals and especially the children in the capital.

Administrator

4 September, 2022

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Held by the People’s Committee of Hoan Kiem District, the “2022 Old Quarter Mid-Autumn Festival” is underway from September 1 to 10 at Dong Xuan Market in the Hanoi Old Quarter area.

A colorful mid-autumn banquet for children. Photo: UNESCO Center for Vietnamese Vietnamese Gastronomy Culture

Many folk games will be organized at the mural space of Phung Hung Street, Hoan Kiem District, including mandarin square capturing, bamboo jacks, tug of war, blind man’s bluff, stilt walking, bamboo dance, sack race, hopscotch, among others.

Series of fascinated events for children

From September 1 to September 10, 2022 (the 6th-15th days of the 8th lunar month), the festival will be held at Hang Ma traditional mid-autumn market, Dong Xuan Market as well as the Hang Dao – Hang Giay walking area, Phung Hung mural street, the Hoan Kiem Lake walking space and its vicinity, the streets in the first-level conservation area and at cultural heritages in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

Children and their parents from 18 wards in Hoan Kiem District could visit children’s toy stalls and be introduced to Mid-Autumn products, watch cultural and art performances, and folk games, and especially take part in the Old Quarter Mid-Autumn Festival Night with fruit tray presentation and lantern procession contests.

The stage of the Festival Night will be decorated with colorful lights to enhance the children’s experience when watching fairy Hang Nga of the Moon Goddess and Chu Cuoi or the Moon Boy recreated in the musical ‘Naughty Cuoi and the Superordinary Chip’.

Coming to the Heritage House at 87 Ma May Street in Hoan Kiem District, visitors and children will be introduced to Hanoian families’ Mid-Autumn Festival celebration space.

In particular, there will be events of decorating the Mid-Autumn Festival space and introducing traditional toys at Kim Ngan Communal House at 42 and 44 Hang Bac Street and Hanoi Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Center at 50 Dao Duy Tu Street.

At these venues, artisan Dang Van Hau from Xuan La Village, Phu Xuyen District, Hanoi will teach visitors how to make to he or rice-powder toy figurines, while craftswoman Nguyen Thi Tuyen from Van Canh Commune, Hoai Duc District will show children how to make star lanterns.

These events will take place on September 5 to16 (ie, the 10th-16th days of the 8th lunar month), 8am-5pm on weekdays and 8am-10pm on weekends.

Foreign visitors enjoy the mid-autumn festival in Hanoi’s Old Quarter area. Photo: Photo: UNESCO Center for Vietnamese Vietnamese Gastronomy Culture

Vietnamese craft tuitions for the whole family

Meanwhile, another event to introduce Hanoian families’ Mid-Autumn Festival celebration space will be held at the Heritage House at 87 Ma May Street.

The Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter, in collaboration with researchers, will display and introduce the traditional mid-autumn festival trays as well as time-honored fish and crab lanterns restored by researcher Trinh Bach and artisan Nguyen Trong Binh. The “Old Quarter Mid-Autumn Festival in the early 20th century” photo collection by the Institute of Social Sciences Information, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, will also be on show.

Similarly, there will be an event dedicated to traditional toys during Mid-Autumn Festivals at the mural space of Phung Hung Street at 8am-9pm on September 7-10.

At the 2022 Old Quarter Mid-Autumn Festival, a variety of fascinating activities will be organized to bring meaningful experiences to visitors, the locals, and especially the children in the capital.

The time-honored toys include star lanterns, revolving lanterns, paper scholars and servants, paper mache masks, clay and rice-powder to he, bamboo dragonflies, kites, and wooden jigsaw puzzles, among others.

A kid is learning how to make mooncakes. Photo: UNESCO Center for Vietnamese Vietnamese Gastronomy Culture

Besides displaying the items, there will be toy-making demonstrations by artisans and craftsmen from Hanoi’s suburban and neighboring craft villages, such as Van Canh Commune (Hoai Duc District.), Cao Vien Commune (Thanh Oai District), Phuong Duc Commune (Phu Xuyen District), Thach Xa Commune (Thach That District), Song Ho Commune (Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province), and Lieu Xa Commune (Yen My District, Hung Yen Province).

Children and their parents will be taught how to play folk games including mandarin square capturing, bamboo jacks, tug of war, blind man’s bluff, stilt walking, bamboo dance, sack race, and hopscotch, among others.

Visitors will be treated to the Te Tieu puppet show from 7.30pm to 9pm on September 7 to 9 and a children’s fashion show organized by the Hanoi Fashion Design Association from 3pm on September 10, and so on.

The Old Quarter Mid-Autumn Festival is held annually to honor the national cultural identity, contribute to preserving the historical and cultural values of the Hanoi Old Quarter, remind people of the national origin, and develop a communal cultural space.

The event also shows the concern and responsibility of the Party committees, government agencies and branches for educating and taking care of children, as well as creating a healthy and meaningful playground for them during the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival of the nation.