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Mid- Autumn Festival in Hoi An ( 15 th of August in Lunar month )
In Vietnam, Mid Autumn Festival can be considered as the second biggest festival after Tet holidays (
Vietnamese Lunar New Year) and it is specialized for children. In Vietnamese, we call it Tet Trung Thu.
It happens 7 to 10 days prior to the 15 th of August in Lunar month.
I still remember how joyful we felt when we were kids in this festival- it dated back to the days in the
beginning of year 1990s when we just had electricity 2-3 days a week. We burned the candles in the
paper lanterns made by ourselves a few days before the festival and allowed by our parents to follow the
teenagers including my brothers and his friends who played unicorn dance, drum. We walked from streets
to streets and in the dark, our lanterns and the eyes of the unicorn were bright like our eye lights. At that
time Moon Cakes were something a luxury for us but our parents and also our friend’s parents could still
try to buy it for us as we kids all loved it in Tet Trung Thu.

Today, it is good that most children in Viet Nam can have Moon Cakes easily ( Bánh Trung Thu) and
enjoy the festival in a new comfortable way with many kinds of unicorn, lion dances and can be driven by
their parents on motorbike to see the unicorn dancing, buy many kinds of lanterns.
Perhaps the most picturesque place in Vietnam now to experience Mid Autumn Festival is in Hoi An. The
Hoi An old quarter comes alive during Mid-Autumn Festival with folk games on the streets and floating
lanterns on the river running through the town, making for a magical atmosphere. Adding to the festivities are groups of lion dancers who engage in mock dance battles in a contest of skills, involving the
coordinated efforts of up to a dozen people performing a mixture of rhythmic dance and acrobatics.
It is great to welcome Mid Autumn Festival in Hoi An which falls from 24 th to 28th September 2015 and a good chance for tourists to experience the special children festival in our small beautiful town.