PV: Until now, many documents have confirmed that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from China. However, the Mid-Autumn Festival - the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Vietnamese people has very unique and special features. Can you share about this?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:China and Giao Chi - Dai Viet have Dong Van elements, and there is no need to doubt the influence of Chinese culture on our country's culture. Therefore, except for Independence Day, the harvest festival of ethnic minorities or local festivals, most of the festivals we celebrate are related to Chinese festivals, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is probably one of them. But no matter what, I still feel that the most reasonable and poetic part of the Mid-Autumn Festival is the beauty of the moonlight with a touch of autumn dew and cold wind. Perhaps because of that beauty, that poetry, stories about the Mid-Autumn Festival are often associated with beautiful people, and the autumn moon, the full moon find themselves in the life of poetry and painting. President Ho Chi Minh has two simple but poignant verses. The poignancy perhaps comes from the longing for the sparkling moonlight“The Mid-Autumn Festival moon is bright as a mirror/Uncle Ho looks at the scenery and misses the children”.
Up to now, the vast majority of documents believe that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated in China. Legend has it that, because of shooting dead nine of the Jade Emperor's children (nine suns), Hou Yi and his wife, Hang Nga, were banished to the human world. Later, Hou Yi was given the elixir of life by the Queen Mother of the West, and told the couple to each take half a pill, but Hang Nga, while her husband was away, was curious and took it all out and drank it, and she was carried to heaven. And because she loved Hang Nga, every year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, heaven allowed her to return to visit her husband and the human world. That was also the day she was most splendid (there are several different versions of this story).
There is a theory that, on a full moon night in August, Emperor Tang Ming was strolling in the Shangyuan garden when a Taoist priest used magic to take him to the moon palace with Yang Guifei. Returning, because he was fascinated by the fairyland, every full moon in August, the King issued an edict for all people to organize a lantern festival. This festival has since become a day for all people, and an occasion for the wealthy, writers and poets to stroll and compose poems. In the work Water Margin, there are at least two times about the Mid-Autumn Festival, one time Song Jiang was captured by Liu Zhizhang, one time Song Jiang and his group went to the capital to contact for peace... In addition, there are other legends.
Japan, China, Korea... each place celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival in its own way, which is a natural requirement stemming from the national cultural character. Vietnam had to endure 1,000 years of Chinese domination without being assimilated, which shows that the cultural resistance to ensure the nation's longevity is very strong. Therefore, obviously our Mid-Autumn Festival celebration also has some differences.
In Vietnam, the Mid-Autumn Festival was formerly associated with the meaning of fertility - a very prominent concept in the spiritual life of most ethnic groups in our country. In addition to predicting the future of the country from the appearance of the Mid-Autumn Moon, including the harvest season, the Mid-Autumn Festival in many localities in the past was also a "wedding festival". There, men and women met, sang to find love.
And the special thing is, if in other countries, the Mid-Autumn Festival is often a common festival for the whole society, then in Vietnam, the Mid-Autumn Festival, no one knows since when, has also had a special meaning as a festival for children. It is not by chance that the games and toys of the Mid-Autumn Festival often carry with them the innocence and liveliness through the eyes of children: star lanterns, lanterns, figurines, drums... Particularly, the singing of drums seems to have existed since the time of Quang Trung, organized by this hero with a romantic soul for his soldiers to sing to relieve homesickness.
PV: The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very meaningful custom. It is the meaning of caring, filial piety, gratitude, friendship, reunion, and love. From that, the full moon is a symbol of reunion and the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Festival of Reunion. Do you agree with the above statement? To you, what is the meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival and would you please share with the readers some memories of your past Mid-Autumn Festivals?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:I think that, for Vietnamese people, every Tet can be considered a reunion Tet, because that is the time when people can gather and share... However, the meaning of reunion is perhaps deeper in Lunar New Year, because that is the occasion when Vietnamese people have many days off according to the State's regulations. Of course, that does not mean losing the spirit of reunion and sharing between people, especially relatives, losing the opportunity to express filial piety and human responsibility during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
For me, the Mid-Autumn Festival, in addition to the above meaning, is an occasion for me to watch my children enjoy a true joy. And in that joy, I will light up a little hope, no matter how small, to send to the children, to see that life is sometimes really worth living. That is also the time when I remember my muddy childhood. I was born and raised in the village, a rough and sometimes dark village. In my childhood, star lanterns were something very luxurious and spinning lanterns were something I only heard about in books. On Mid-Autumn nights, I often went to see youth performances (if organized on Mid-Autumn), every year this program was organized on Independence Day, on Mid-Autumn night, I followed my brothers and sisters to make some homemade toys from mud or banana roots and play with them in the corner of my yard.
PV: Compared to before, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had some differences. What do you think they are and is there anything you regret?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:It is obvious that it is different, life is always moving. Mid-Autumn Festival today is richer, more practical and I see that every effort put in seems to be related to money. In the past, there was no buying and selling, everyone did it themselves. In the past, raising money seemed to have only symbolic meaning. Nowadays, in many places, as I witnessed, Mid-Autumn Festival often has a lion dance team going around the village and sometimes even asking for sponsorship.
In addition, it can be seen that the Mid-Autumn Festival is increasingly lacking in cultural depth. And very rushed, because children still have to play quickly to save time to do homework. Not to mention, some people even turn the Mid-Autumn Festival into an opportunity to give gifts and create relationships. Not to mention, there are some places, some events that are organized that seem to be negatively breaking the structure and format of traditional culture... I regret the old Mid-Autumn Festivals - beautiful and clear Mid-Autumn Festivals like the beauty of the moonlight with a bit of cold autumn dew...
PV: Speaking of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in recent years, the Mid-Autumn Festival - the Full Moon Festival in August is also an opportunity for departments, sectors, organizations and individuals to pay more attention to children and disadvantaged students in remote areas, orphans and students with difficult circumstances. Is this also a new feature of the Mid-Autumn Festival that only exists in Vietnam and what does this mean to you?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:I think this is a new feature. And I guess, just a guess, it only exists in Vietnam, because Vietnam has three characteristics: Mid-Autumn Festival, many poor children, and a spirit of mutual love. There are many meanings in these activities, but in my opinion, the most important and comprehensive is that Mid-Autumn Festival brings people closer together, reminds people to live more responsibly.
PV: Compared to before, the way children welcome and enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival has changed a lot. Many people think that this is inevitable, as life has developed and the needs of life and the way of thinking about life have changed a lot. But, if you look at it more broadly, do you think that children today are no longer carefree and innocent like before when they have to endure too much pressure?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:Honestly, I have talked many times on many forums about the thousands of pressures that children have to endure in the present time. And of course they are no longer as innocent as before. Everyone knows the reason. I just emphasize once again that children do not deserve to be like that.
PV: We have just entered a new school year with many worries, concerns, and thoughts. As an educator, what do you wish for the children and students this Mid-Autumn Festival?
Dr. Le Thanh Nga:It seems that the mission of “being changed” is beyond my reach, although I really want it, and as someone working in the education sector, I am also partly responsible for this situation. However, the wish to bring happiness to children will forever remain just a wish, without a unified mindset and action from many sides. So my wish (and that is also what I want everyone to act to achieve) is that children can be freed from all constraints and unnecessary pressures; for example: the school backpack is a little lighter, homework is a little less, adults expect a little less from their children, everyone is a little less pragmatic, giving back childhood, giving back Mid-Autumn Festival to the children. And above all, during Mid-Autumn Festival (as well as holidays and Tet in general), no child will be the object of care in the spirit of helping each other.
PV: Thanks for joining the conversation!
