Mid-Autumn Festival - the season of union members

Running up the lanterns

The Youth Union Festival is not simply a beautiful day, but is the most accurate reflection of the agricultural origin, the scientific meaning and the social value system that have been forged for this holiday. The core activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival - from family gatherings to watch the moon, break meals together, to the Mid-Autumn Festival cake giving ceremony - are all rituals to strengthen and reaffirm the bond between family and community.

To explain the nature of this holiday, there is no more accurate assessment of the late scholar, Professor Nguyen Van Huyen in the book "Summer Festival of Vietnamese People" when he wrote: "Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the less religious holidays, but more about family affection - affection, teacher-student affection, and friendship". This saying is the key to opening the door to understanding the Mid-Autumn Festival, shifting the focus of the holiday from religious rituals to human relationships. It can be said that "Union members" are not an aspect of the Mid-Autumn Festival; it is the foundation principle, the cultural "operating system" on which all other activities - whether for children, couples or for the community - are operated. Understanding the Mid-Autumn Festival, first of all, is to understand the meaning of the two words "Union Member".

The meaning of "Union Member" of the Mid-Autumn Festival is not an abstract cultural value, but a direct result of its origin in the rice farming cycle of the Vietnamese people. The time of organizing the festival is the leading contributing factor, shaping the focus on family reunion. In-depth analysis by Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Ngocem clearly pointed out this connection in the book "Learning about traditional Vietnamese festivals": "Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the time off after the harvest, creating opportunities for members to return, make cakes, worship the moon, and watch the moon together - a symbol of complete reunion".

This assessment closely connects the agricultural calendar with the social action of solidarity. In the context of a typical agricultural culture like Vietnam, where people always attach importance to harmony with nature and put family and village at the center, a festival like the Mid-Autumn Festival is a natural and inevitable manifestation. The festival takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the main harvest season is over, the weather is cool, pleasant, and people are "rested" after hard working days. This is the most ideal moment of the year to rest, celebrate and return to family.

From an socio-economic perspective, this union membership has a more important meaning. In traditional agricultural society, the family is the core production unit. The harvest season requires collective labor, requiring the strength of all members. The post-harvest period, as Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Ngoc they pointed out, is a natural breakdown in that production cycle. Therefore, "Union members" during the Mid-Autumn Festival is the moment when the basic economic unit (family) reunites, rests and strengthens the cohesion before entering a new farming cycle. It is not only a celebration of a successful crop season, but also a honor to the enduring strength of the family - cells that made that success. This has turned Mid-Autumn Festival from a simple holiday into a basic ritual of economic and social life.

The full moon is the ultimate symbol of "completion"

If the agricultural cycle is the material foundation, then the full moon on the night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the symbolic heart, the soul of the Reunion Festival. The moonlight tonight, the roundest and brightest of the year, is the strongest and most poetic embodiment of the ideal of completeness, fullness and unity - the core values of "Union Members".

In the minds of East Asia, the moon has long been considered a symbol of "completeness, fulfillment and fullness". Her perfect round shape evokes a close family gathering scene, no one is left out. Ancient cultures have always found a deep connection between the cycle of the moon and the cycle of human life - the full moon and the defected moon as well as people sometimes gathering, sometimes separating, having joy and sadness. Therefore, the darkest and brightest night of the year naturally becomes the most sacred and best time to honor reunion.

The symbolic power of the moon is also nurtured by fairy tales and cultural legends that have anchored human emotions to this animal. The story of Hang Nga and Hau Nghe, although originating from Chinese culture, has become familiar, carrying the meaning of love, sacrifice and an eternal connection. The image of Hang Nga from the moon watching her husband under the ceiling turned the moon into a symbol of loyal love, despite all the obstacles.

More specifically, the story of Uncle Cuoi sitting at the base of a banyan tree in Vietnam evokes a deep sense of homesickness and a desire to gather. The image of Cuoi sitting on the moon, always looking towards the earth has become a symbol of " nostalgia for homeland, for the desire to reunite", an emotional that strongly resonate with those who are far from home.

From here, the act of "watching the moon" is no longer an individual act but becomes a collective ritual, capable of connecting family members even when they are not together. The Moon is a cosmic object that everyone, wherever they are, can admire on the same night.

When the family gathers to watch the moon, they are participating in a shared experience. And for a child from afar, looking up at the moon will create an extremely intense "Member in the Heart" moment. The Moon has now become a symbolic bridge, a common focus of erasing geographical distances and reaffirming emotional connection. This is the reason why the holiday has a deep emotional impact on the overseas Vietnamese community and those who cannot return home.

The material culture of the Mid-Autumn Festival, especially family trays and a Mid-Autumn Festival cake, is not just a holiday dish. They are symbolically significant rituals, created to be shared in the way of performing and consolidating the "S delegate" action. The offering tray on the night of the 15th day of the 8th lunar month was first prepared to be offered to ancestors, thank God the earth for giving us a bountiful harvest season, then the whole family could "break the offering tray" together under the moon. This order puts the family gathering in the larger context of gratitude and gratitude.

The focus of the tray is the fruit tray. According to ancient beliefs, five fruits symbolize the balance of Ngu Hanh (Kim, Moc, Thuy, Hoa, Tho) and are a wish for "Phuc, Quy, Tho, Khang, Ninh". Each type of fruit has its own wish: the round grapefruit symbolizes peace and prosperity; the multi-seed pomegranate fruit brings wishes for full children and families, happy families; the bright red rose fruit symbolizes faith and hope... The way the fruit tray is arranged, often in a round shape or as high as a tower, further highlights the meaning of completeness and fullness. Despite differences in typical fruits in each Northern, Central and Southern regions, the core meaning of solidarity and respect remains unchanged, showing a popular theme expressed through diverse local identities.

Continuation and change of "Union Member" value

In the context of the present, under the pressure of modernization and commercialization, the forms of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival have changed a lot. However, the core value of "Union Members" still persists, adapting and finding new forms of expression. The shift to "Children's Tet" is the most significant change. However, this does not erase but, on the contrary, strengthens the theme of Union Membership. Activities for children - carrying lights, breaking cakes, watching lion dances - have become the main reason why many generations in the family ( grandparents, parents, children) gather. Children become the core, the center of emotions that brings members together, thereby practicing the value of a Union member in the way of taking children as the center. This change has strengthened the function of the Mid-Autumn Festival as a multi-generational gathering. "Children's Tet" does not replace "Union Members' Tet", but becomes the main means for "Union Members" to be implemented in modern society.

commercialization has also profoundly changed the face of the holiday. Handmade and rustic cakes, lanterns of the past have been largely replaced by a diverse commodity market. Luxuriously and elaborately designed moon cake boxes have become an important form of gift in social and business relationships. This can be seen as not a degradation of tradition, but an adaptation of the "residence meeting" principle to modern social networks. Giving cake boxes to partners and colleagues is a new ritual to strengthen relationships, an extension of the "friendly affection" that Professor Nguyen Van Huyen mentioned.

At the same time, the trend of nostalgia and preservation of traditional values is also emerging. Consumers are increasingly favoring handmade, traditional toys over mass-produced plastic items. Large-scale Mid-Autumn Festivals in cultural sites such as Hoi An (Da Nang) and Tuyen Quang have become special events, attracting tourists to seek a "professional" Mid-Autumn Festival experience.

For the Vietnamese community abroad, the Mid-Autumn Festival has a special meaning. It becomes an important opportunity for future generations to learn about their roots, to reaffirm their cultural identity in a strange environment. Gathering together, making cakes, and carrying lanterns is no longer a natural habit but a conscious effort to preserve culture, with "Union Members" as the central theme, connecting everyone.

From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that the identity of the "Tet Doan Nho" of the Mid-Autumn Festival is a multi-layered, complex cultural structure. It is rooted in the agricultural economy, symbolized by the full moon, practiced through the rituals of sharing meals and moon cakes, and expanded to cover the entire social life cycle of the community.