Three stories mother tells her children on Mid-Autumn Festival

Children are eager to break the lantern festival under the shimmering moonlight, watch the lively lion dance, and taste delicious cakes. On the full moon night of August, mothers can tell their children the story of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncakes, and the lanterns so that children will love the beautiful traditions and culture more.

The story of Mid-Autumn Festival

Legend has it that Emperor Tang Ming Huang (713 - 741 AD) was strolling in the Imperial Garden on the full moon night of the eighth lunar month. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was very full and bright, and the air was cool. While the king was enjoying the beautiful scenery, he met the Taoist priest La Cong Vien. The Taoist priest had the power to take the king to the moon palace. There, the scenery was even more beautiful.

The king was delighted to enjoy the fairyland and the magical sounds and lights, along with the fairies in beautiful colorful costumes dancing and singing. In that wonderful moment, the king forgot that it was almost dawn. The Taoist had to remind the king to leave, but he was still filled with regret.

Upon returning to the palace, the king was still nostalgic for the fairyland, so he created the Khuc Nghe Thuong Vu Y. Every full moon night of the eighth lunar month, the king ordered the people to organize a lantern procession and a celebration party. He and Yang Guifei drank wine under the moon and watched the palace maids dance and sing to commemorate their miraculous tour of the moon palace. Since then, organizing a lantern procession and a celebration party on the full moon day of the eighth lunar month has become a folk custom.

Emperor Minh Hoang immediately ordered the construction of the Vong Nguyet Dai (Moon-watching Tower). In the middle of the full moon night, the king went up to the Vong Nguyet Dai to enjoy watching the moon. The king immediately established the Mid-Autumn Festival when the full moon of August came. Since then, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become an annual festival, when the moon is full and bright, the music and dance of the Khúc nghe often resound in the palace. Nowadays, along with the joy of watching the moon and enjoying the feast, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a festival for children.

The story of the moon cake

One Mid-Autumn night, the moon was clear and the wind was cool. Emperor Tang Ming Huang (Tang Xuanzong) and Yang Guifei ate walnut cakes and watched the moon. The king thought the name walnut cake did not sound romantic, so he called it Nguyet cake (moon cake).

From then on, moon cakes were called Nguyet cakes. Later, people still called moon cakes to refer to the type of cake enjoyed on the full moon night of August. People often enjoy the cake with family members to feel the warm affection.

Mom can tell her children about moon cakes by telling them her own feelings. A good story will enter the children's minds gently but deeply, making them unforgettable.

The story of the lantern

Once upon a time, near the Mid-Autumn Festival, under the King's orders, the people eagerly competed to make strange lanterns, but none of them satisfied the King. At that time, there was a poor farmer named Luc Duc who had lost his father and lived with his very filial mother. One day, in his dream, Luc Duc saw a white-haired and bearded god appear and say:

- I am the Supreme Elder Lord. Seeing that you are poor but filial to your mother, I will show you how to make a lamp to offer to the king.

The next day, following the instructions of the God, Luc Duc and his mother took white bamboo and colored paper to make the lantern. Time passed quickly, and when the lantern was finished, the full moon day of the eighth lunar month had just arrived. He happily brought the lantern with his mother to the capital to present to the king. The king looked at it, saw that the lantern was both strange and colorful and could move, so he was very pleased.

When the king asked about the meaning of the lamp, Luc Duc followed the God's words and said: "Your Majesty, the bamboo in the middle of the lamp represents the axis of the universe, the six-sided spinning pinwheel symbolizes the six personalities of humans: love, hate, anger, sadness, joy, and resentment. The pinwheel is always spinning, symbolizing that humans change for a reason, which is the way of being human. The pinwheel is always spinning thanks to the light of the lamp, just as good people are also thanks to morality. The six sides of the lamp are made of bright paper, representing the personality of humans."

The king ordered the lanterns to be brought out for the people to see. The lanterns were lit and the pinwheels turned. The six brilliant colors displayed were images of the king, mandarins, people, and horses following each other. All the figures on the lanterns were made of paper. The king rewarded Luc Duc and his mother very generously and granted them the title of Van Ho Hau. From then on, every time the Mid-Autumn Festival came, remembering the story of the filial son Luc Duc, the people competed to imitate him in making brightly colored lanterns called "cau quan" lanterns.

Through the lesson of being human embedded in the meaningful story of the lantern, mothers can skillfully teach their children the good virtue of filial piety.