7 traditional Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival toys you may not know

1. Lantern

The lantern is made of paper wrapped around a bamboo frame called a lantern cage.

The lantern is a traditional toy, a favorite of Vietnamese children in the past every Mid-Autumn Festival. When mentioning the lantern, we often think of a cylindrical lamp, made of paper wrapped around a bamboo frame, a type of lamp that seems lifeless but is very lively when it knows how to "tell stories".

The unique thing about the lantern is that the cage can rotate, pulling along many figures, which are popularly called “armies”. These lanterns help children learn more about the history of their country. Therefore, the images pasted on the lanterns are often of armies or animals such as: buffalo, chicken, birds, dancing sacred animals, farmers working in the fields, cowherds…

2. Lantern (monk lantern)

It is called a spinning lamp because it spins like a top; it is also called a monk's lamp because the lampshade is shaped like the hat that monks often wear on their heads.

Lanterns are also known as monk lanterns - this is also a traditional toy of many generations of ancestors. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, children around the neighborhood pull the sparkling lanterns out to the communal house yard to play.

To make a lantern, the craftsmen spend a lot of time and steps from splitting bamboo, whittling bamboo strips to making wheels, gluing colored paper... the name of the monk lantern or lantern also comes from its shape, the lampshade is shaped like a monk's hat and when pulled, the lamp will rotate like a top.

3. Frog drum

When beaten, the drum makes a "clack, tung" sound typical of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Frog drums are similar to buffalo skin drums and lion drums but smaller, and are also one of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival toys that children loved in the past. When played, the drums make a "clack, tung" sound, typical of the Mid-Autumn Festival, creating more excitement, joy, and making the flavor of Children's Day.

4. Paper mache mask

To make a papier-mâché mask, one must go through many different stages and requires a certain level of skill and aesthetic sense.

There was a time when papier-mâché masks - a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival toy - seemed to be overshadowed by more modern, eye-catching toys from China. But in recent years, papier-mâché masks have gradually reappeared with images of familiar Vietnamese folk characters such as: Ong Dia, Uncle Teu, Chi Pheo, Thi No... In addition, there are masks of characters in fairy tales for children to dress up as their favorite characters on the full moon night.

5. Paper PhD

Paper doctors are made of colorful paper.

In the past, every Mid-Autumn Festival, grandparents and parents often bought paper doctors made of colorful paper, placed them in the most beautiful place, surrounded by cakes, fruits, and decorative lights.

The image of the paper doctor is not simply a folk game, but through which parents want to send their children a hope that their children will study hard and grow up to pass exams. This clearly shows the spirit of learning, encouraging learning and talent of our nation. After breaking the cake, children often place the paper doctor in a solemn corner on the study table, so that every time they study, they often remind themselves that they need to try harder.

6. He plays the stick and looks at the moon

Playing stick games while looking at the moon is a popular folk game during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the past.

If the paper doctor represents the dream of knowledge, the stick-playing toy is a meaningful mid-autumn toy, symbolizing the wishes and desires of our ancestors for a physically healthy generation that can contribute to helping the country and people.

7. To he

Tò he is a traditional Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival toy.

Among the myriad of traditional Mid-Autumn toys that “awaken” children’s activeness and liveliness, to he is a toy that guides children towards art, dexterity and meticulousness. To he is a colorful dream, a funny childhood world expressed through fairy tale characters and adorable animals.

From familiar ingredients in life such as sticky rice flour, natural food coloring, bamboo sticks, with creativity and skillful techniques, the craftsman creates to he figurines of all shapes, expressing a range of emotions on the face.

Tò he is one of the few traditional mid-autumn toys that still exists today.