Celebrating Tet Trung Thu: A Guide to Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival

Not to be confused with Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year), Tet Trung Thu is Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival. This festive, family-focused holiday originated in China over 3,000 years ago but has long been celebrated in many Asian countries, including Vietnam. 

In Vietnam, the holiday takes on the form of a festival for children. Head to a temple, pagoda, or park, and you will likely see kids dressed up in ao dai (traditional garb) while carrying star-shaped lanterns, singing holiday songs, and dancing. If you're looking for a memorable cultural experience, places like Hoi An's Ancient Town and Hanoi's Old Quarter will undoubtedly have festive lantern-studded decorations and parades. 

If your trip to Vietnam coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, this guide has got you covered with everything you need to know. From the local folklore behind the Moon Festival to holiday customs and traditions to the perfect gift to give your Vietnamese friends, you're going to have a blast experiencing this local Vietnamese festival.  

At its roots, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival, where locals give thanks to the moon for the annual harvest. It's also a time for families to spend quality time with their kids at the end of a gruelling harvest season. 

However, in Vietnam, local folklore and children's stories have become intertwined with the holiday. There are two main legends that, to this day, remain deeply ingrained in Vietnamese Moon Festival traditions, both of which hearken back to the festival's agricultural origins. 

The first is the legend of Chi Hang Nga, the Moon Goddess, an enchanting fairy who floated to the moon after drinking an immortality potion. The second is of Chu Cuoi, a man who was lifted to the moon, where he still lives, on a magic banyan tree. It is said that lanterns help Chu Cuoi to see the earth so that he doesn't feel lonely on the moon. 

Both tales play a major role in many of the local holiday traditions, including the drum-fuelled lion dances, postcard-worthy lantern displays, children's lantern parades, and endless mooncakes. Also known as the “Children’s Festival,” it’s a time for family and togetherness, with the focus often revolving around giving gifts to children and spending time admiring the full moon as a family. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the lunar calendar, meaning the dates of Tet Trung Thu change every year. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, typically in September or early October during the full moon. 

No, unlike Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year), Tet Trung Thu is not an official holiday, so you won't have to worry about business closures or transportation delays. Just enjoy the festivities.  

You're going to find thick and perfectly-rounded mooncakes (banh trung thu) everywhere in the weeks leading up to Tet Trung Thu. It's tradition to both eat mooncakes (usually with tea) and offer them as gifts to friends, family, and business associates during this time of year. While the timeline of when mooncakes first made their way from China to Vietnam remains a bit fuzzy, these unique treats have long played a major role in Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Traditionally, mooncakes consist of chewy pastry dough on the outside and a dense sweet or savoury filling on the inside. In Vietnam, traditional sweet fillings are almost always lotus seed paste, red bean paste, or mixed nuts, while savoury fillings consist of either meat, vegetables, or salted egg yolk. These flavours are still mainstays, but Vietnamese pastry chefs have gotten very creative over the years. 

In big cities, you can expect bakeries and pastry shops to dream up surprising new flavours every year. Think tiramisu, durian, matcha, cheese, and beyond. One of the best ways to surprise your Vietnamese friend or host during this festival is to gift them a box of mooncakes. When in doubt, offer them traditional sweet flavours. 

There is a lot of symbolism behind the lanterns used to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam. When it comes to the legend of Chu Cuoi, the man who lives on the moon, the lanterns are used to help lonely Chu Cuoi see the earth from the moon. Folklore aside, lanterns help light the path toward fortune and prosperity. You'll see many children toting around red star-shaped lanterns. But you'll find that lanterns come in every shape and size, including some truly impressive animal-shaped lanterns. 

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, you will likely see parades featuring little kids dressed up in their finest carrying lanterns around while dancing and singing. It's always an adorable sight. Kids are given plenty of toys and treats for the occasion, making this a favourite holiday amongst Vietnamese kiddos. 

You'll probably hear these performances before you see them. If you hear loud drums while wandering the streets of Vietnam during the Mid-Autumn Festival, walk toward them to witness one of the famous lion dances. A team of acrobatic dancers is usually accompanied by loud drumbeats to help ward off evil spirits and usher in good luck and good fortune. These dances are always fun for kids and adults alike. 

What better place to experience Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival than in the "City of Lanterns"? With its postcard-perfect Ancient Town and lantern-filled streets and storefronts, Hoi An is always a magical place. But things are always taken up a notch for this annual festival. That being said, you should brace yourself for large crowds. If you are willing to brave the throngs of visitors and just soak up the holiday spirit, Hoi An is such a memorable place to experience this festival.

If you're in Hanoi, going to the Old Quarter is your best bet. You'll see plenty of streets adorned with lanterns for the occasion and a children's lantern parade. It's also a fun place to see all the kids running around and playing with toys near Hoan Kiem Lake. 

To get into the holiday spirit, make your way to the lesser-visited District 5. This is Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown, and Luong Nhu Hoc Street (aka Lantern Street) is always brimming with shops selling lanterns, lion dance gear, and children's toys. It's a feast for the eyes and the perfect place for photographers to get colourful shots of the festivities. 

Nha Trang is probably one of the best Vietnamese cities to celebrate any holiday. This beach city is ultra-touristy but you can expect locals and tourists alike to get into the Mid-Autumn Festival spirit. 

Book your hotel room well ahead of time, especially if you're planning on staying in Hoi An, Hanoi's Old Quarter, or Nha Trang. These areas are always very popular, but they're exceptionally popular during the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival. If you're looking for a modern, budget-friendly option in Nha Trang or Ho Chi Minh City, there are some excellent ibis hotels in these cities, which will make a great home base.   

Learn to say "Trung Thu Vui Ve” ("Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" in Vietnamese). Saying this to locals will go a long way, and you’ll get the warmest smiles, waves, and festive cheers in return, especially from kids and their parents. The Mid-Autumn Festival is generally a very festive time in Vietnam and a fun experience for tourists and locals alike. So get into the spirit and impress with this phrase and a gift of mooncakes.