Mid Autumn Festival 2019 (Vietnam)

“A glass of wine, a game of chess
Admiring the beauty of flowers,
waiting for the moon to rise”
—Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Du (1765-1820), "The Tale of Kiều"

Today’s Doodle represents the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important annual holidays in East Asia. The event, also known as the Moon Festival, takes place every year on the first full moon after the fall equinox, traditionally the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Originally celebrated in China for thousands of years, over time the festival spread from the royal classes to the common folk and eventually all across the region, including Vietnam, where the local culture developed its own special customs and traditions.

No Moon Festival is complete without mooncakes, traditionally baked or steamed at home but now sold everywhere in a range of flavors from savory—roast pork, egg—to sweet—red bean paste, fruit, nuts, seeds, even chocolate. They are usually round like the full moon, a shape that reflects the concept of a family reunion. When a mooncake is shared after a traditional family meal, it must be cut into a specific number of equal parts. At times a piece or two will be saved for an absent loved one to enjoy when they come home.

In Vietnam, the festival is known as Tết Trung Thu and focuses mainly on the children. Much of the population lives in rural areas, many working in agriculture. For them, Tết Trung Thu is all about celebrating the end of the harvest season and spending precious time with family. Preparations for the joyful season begin weeks in advance, as mooncake stalls offer soft sticky bánh dẻo or thicker bánh nướng, often elaborately decorated. During the festival, households make offerings to the God of Earth, while children carry carp-shaped lanterns or go door-to-door performing lion or unicorn dances.