It is autumn in Vietnam now. In autumn, there is an important festival in Vietnam called Moon festival or Mid-autumn festival in Vietnam. It is on 15th of August in lunar calendar. Moon festival reminds me of my childhood. Vietnamese kids always expect this festival in the year. In this festival, kids are given many lovely gifts by their parents or relatives such as star lanterns, masks, water guns, new dresses… Especially, all members of the family will gather to taste traditional foods and enjoy happy moment together. So, what are the Vietnamese traditional foods in Mid-autumn festival? Indochina travel Vietnam
Vietnamese traditional foods in Moon festival
In tradition, Vietnamese people enjoy tasting sticky rice moon cake, bread bake and drinking a cup of green tea in Moon festival. These are two main kinds of traditional foods in Vietnamese Moon festival. Bread bake is square. Its crust is made from flour, mixed with a little sugar and oil. Bread bake’s crust is yellowish brown. Bread bake has the mixture of lime leaves, fatty meats, jam, melon seeds and Chinese sausage inside. Beside bread bake, an other typical moon cake in Vietnam named sticky rice moon cake is also the Vietnamese typical traditional food in Moon festival. It has the white crust. Sticky rice moon cake is typically made from roasted glutinous rice flour that has been finely milled. This cake is sweet and pure white. It is so interesting when we have chance to taste a piece of moon cake with a cup of tea, admire the full Moon, watch kids dance, listen to the kids sing and join the crowds on the street in festival.
Beside two mains kinds of moon cakes are sticky rice moon cake and bread bake, Vietnamese people also have other foods in this festival.
Typically, Mid-autumn festival party for kids has many kinds of fruits such as guava, banana, grapefruit, custard-apple, peach, mango, dragon fruits, start-fruit… People will create many eye-catching shapes and lovely animals from fruits. For instant, people will create puppies from grapefruit, create Belgium from watermelon or create beautiful flowers from cucumbers or other fruits. You can add more fruits if you like. All these fruits are showed in the table. In Moon festival, people won’t start to taste fruits in the table until the Moon moves up to high. Not only kids but also adults expect Mid-autumn festival. Vietnam travel packages
The meaning of traditional moonquakes in Vietnamese Moon festival
People taste moon cakes in this festival but many of us don’t know the meaning of moon cakes. In the full moon date of August in lunar calendar, people present moon cakes to each other. If you pay attention, you will see that the mixture inside of moon cakes have circle shape. Circle is regarded as the symbol of perfection and wholeness so people give moon cakes to each other with the belief that the sweet moon cakes will bring happiness, lucky and warmth to their family and relatives. That is the reason why moon cakes can’t be lacked in Vietnamese traditional Mid-autumn festival.
In Vietnamese tradition, Moon festival is to thank God for giving good weather condition and bumper crop. However, Moon festival is the occasion of gathering nowadays. Our life is modern but busy so we don’t have much time for our family. All festivals or holidays bring chance of gathering to us, so Moon festival does. Everyone spends time with family in Moon festival. Parents and grandparents always remind descendants that: “You do not forget to come home in Moon festival”. Moon cakes are always the best gift in Moon festival to bring home and gather with family.
How can you get moon cakes in this festival in Vietnam?
Nowadays, it is so easy for you to get a box of moon cakes on the occasion of this festival. If you are in Vietnam these days, especially in big cities like Hanoi, Sai Gon, Hai Phong, Da Nang… you will see that moon cakes are showed on all streets, supermarkets and stores. These have some famous branches that specialize in providing high quality moon cakes in Vietnam like Kinh Do, Huu Nghi, Brodard, Givral, Nhu Lan, Dong Khanh, Bibica. You can buy moon cakes from these branches in supermarkets, shopping centers… to present relatives on this festival. Recently, many Vietnamese housewives make moon cakes at home by themselves to present all members of their family and relatives. They said that handmade moon cakes are safe for their health. Moreover, when making moon cakes for family, they have feeling that their love is wrapped into moon cakes so moon cakes are not only a present in Moon festival but also are the symbols of love in this modern and busy life.
Moon festival is the second important festival in Vietnam, just after Tet (or Lunar New Year). If Chung cake is a traditional food in Vietnam, moon cake and fruits are the traditional foods in Moon festival of Vietnam. You will feel the warmth and happy atmosphere in Moon festival when all members of your family gather together, admire full-moon, taste moon cakes, drink green tea and tell funny stories.
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