In Vietnam, the Mid-Autumn Festival, known as Tết Trung Thu, is one of the most important traditional celebrations of the Vietnamese calendar. Often called the Children’s Festival (Tết Thiếu Nhi), it is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is traditionally at its fullest.
In 2026, Tết Trung Thu falls on Friday, 25 September
Although the festival has roots shared with other East Asian Mid-Autumn traditions, Vietnam has developed its own distinctive customs, stories and celebrations. Here, children are very much at the centre of the festivities, with lantern processions, lion dances, mooncakes, fruit trays and neighbourhood celebrations filling the days and evenings around the full moon.
Traditionally, Tết Trung Thu was also associated with the end of the agricultural harvest. Once much of the hard work in the fields had been completed, families could take time to gather together, enjoy the harvest and spend an evening under the full moon.
Folktales associated with the festival
Vietnamese Mid-Autumn celebrations are surrounded by stories of the moon, magical trees and legendary characters. Some of these stories have parallels elsewhere in East Asia, while others have become particularly associated with Vietnamese culture.
Chú Cuội – the Moon Boy
Perhaps the best-known Vietnamese Mid-Autumn legend is the story of Chú Cuội.
According to the tale, Cuội discovered a magical banyan tree whose leaves possessed extraordinary healing powers. After a series of unfortunate events, the sacred tree began to rise towards the Moon. Cuội desperately tried to hold on to it, but was carried upwards with the tree and became stranded on the Moon.
On a clear full-moon night, Vietnamese children are traditionally told that the shadow they can see on the Moon is Cuội sitting beneath his banyan tree.
This is one reason why lantern processions are such an important part of Tết Trung Thu. Children carrying their colourful lanterns through the streets are said to be helping Cuội find his way back to Earth.
Read more: The Moon Boy – Cuoi
https://inorizavietnam.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/the-boy-in-the-moon/
Hằng Nga and the Moon
Another character associated with the Vietnamese imagination surrounding the Moon is Hằng Nga, the Vietnamese name commonly used for the lunar goddess known elsewhere in East Asia as Chang’e.
Stories of Hằng Nga vary considerably from one tradition to another, and versions of the tale have been adapted over centuries. In Vietnamese popular culture, she is nevertheless an instantly recognisable figure of Tết Trung Thu, particularly in children’s celebrations, performances and decorations.
Together with Chú Cuội, she has become part of the magical world of the Mid-Autumn moon that children encounter every year.
The carp and the dragon
The carp is another familiar image during Tết Trung Thu.
In East Asian tradition, the carp is associated with perseverance and transformation. A carp that succeeds in overcoming obstacles may eventually become a dragon. The image therefore represents determination, effort and the possibility of achieving something greater.
It is a particularly appropriate symbol for a festival centred on children and their hopes for the future.
Preparations begin
The excitement of Tết Trung Thu does not begin on the evening of the full moon. In many parts of Vietnam, preparations start weeks beforehand.
You will hear the distinctive drums of lion-dance groups practising in streets and courtyards. Mooncake stalls appear everywhere, often with beautifully designed boxes containing an astonishing variety of cakes and fillings.
Shops and market stalls also fill with lanterns, masks, toys and colourful decorations.
One of the most recognisable Vietnamese lanterns is the đèn ông sao, the traditional five-pointed star lantern, often made with coloured cellophane. In the days leading up to Trung Thu, these bright stars can be seen in shops and on street stalls throughout the country.
And then there are the mooncakes.
The Mooncake Festival
For many Vietnamese families, Tết Trung Thu is inseparable from bánh trung thu, the traditional mooncakes.
Families may prepare a tray of fruit and cakes for the ancestral altar before sharing food together. Mooncakes are often enjoyed with tea, and the round shape of the traditional cake is closely associated with the full moon and the idea of reunion.
The two classic varieties are:
Bánh dẻo – a soft, pale, chewy mooncake with a distinctive sticky texture.
Bánh nướng – a baked mooncake with a golden-brown wheat-flour crust.
Inside, the possibilities are almost endless. Traditional fillings may include lotus seed paste, mixed nuts, salted egg yolks and other ingredients, while modern Vietnamese mooncakes can be found in an extraordinary range of sweet and savoury flavours.
Mooncakes have also evolved considerably over the years, with contemporary bakeries producing increasingly elaborate designs and flavours. Yet the tradition remains the same: they are made to be shared.
Moonlit celebrations
When the full moon rises, the festival comes properly to life.
Children carry brightly coloured lanterns through their neighbourhoods, often singing traditional songs as they go. Streets and courtyards become gathering places, and families come together to enjoy fruit, sweets and mooncakes.
Among the most recognisable figures is Ông Địa, the Earth God, usually portrayed by a dancer wearing a large, round and cheerful mask. He accompanies lion-dance performances with comic movements and playful interaction with the audience.
Ông Địa is traditionally associated with the earth, abundance and good fortune, and his appearance is one of the most entertaining elements of a Vietnamese Trung Thu celebration.
Lion dances
If you are in Vietnam during the weeks surrounding Tết Trung Thu, it is almost impossible to miss the sound of múa lân, the lion dance.
The performances are accompanied by drums and cymbals, while dancers manipulate an elaborately decorated lion costume. Some groups are highly skilled and spectacularly acrobatic; others are little more than enthusiastic groups of children making as much noise as possible.
And that is part of the charm.
Lion-dance groups may visit homes, shops and restaurants and ask permission to perform. A successful performance is traditionally associated with good fortune and prosperity, and the performers may receive lucky money or other gifts afterwards.
For a few evenings, the streets can become surprisingly noisy. Drums echo between buildings, children follow the lions from one performance to another, and the occasional dragon joins the procession.
Vietnam Tourism describes lion dancing as an essential element of Mid-Autumn celebrations, particularly for children.
Tết Trung Thu in Hội An
One of the most atmospheric places to experience Tết Trung Thu is Hội An, the historic town in central Vietnam.
The Old Town, with its narrow streets and traditional architecture, already has a strong lantern culture. During Trung Thu, the atmosphere becomes even more distinctive as lanterns illuminate the streets and lion-dance groups perform outside shops, restaurants and historic buildings.
The Thu Bồn River adds another element to the spectacle, with boats and lanterns creating reflections on the water.
Vietnam Tourism specifically highlights Hội An as a particularly magical place to experience the Mid-Autumn Festival, with lanterns, lion dances and celebrations throughout the Old Town.
One of the amusing features of the celebrations is that different lion-dance groups can encounter one another in the relatively confined streets. What follows may look surprisingly competitive, with each group attempting to outdo the other with increasingly energetic performances.
Occasionally, a dragon appears as well. Unlike the lion, a dragon requires several performers to control its long, sinuous body, making it an impressive sight when it winds its way through the streets.
I have experienced Tết Trung Thu in Hội An myself, and one of the things that stayed with me was the extraordinary contrast between the historic setting, the lantern-lit river and the sheer youthful energy of the celebrations.
A festival that belongs to children
Perhaps the most charming thing about Tết Trung Thu is that, despite its ancient traditions and legends, it remains remarkably relevant to modern Vietnamese life.
For adults, it is an opportunity to meet family and friends, share food and remember childhood traditions. For children, it is something much simpler: lanterns, mooncakes, drums, lions, masks and staying up late.
Vietnam is changing rapidly, but on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, some things remain wonderfully familiar.
The drums still echo through the streets.
The lanterns still glow in the darkness.
The moon still rises over the rooftops.
And somewhere up there, if you look carefully enough, perhaps you can still see Chú Cuội sitting beneath his banyan tree.
When is Tết Trung Thu 2026?
Also called: Tết Trung Thu, Mid-Autumn Festival, Children’s Festival, Tết Thiếu Nhi
Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
Lunar date: 15th day of the 8th lunar month
When: Tết Trung Thu is celebrated on the full moon of the eighth lunar month.
Calendar: Vietnamese Lunar Calendar
Where: Vietnam
Main traditions: Lantern processions, lion dances, mooncakes, fruit trays, family gatherings and children’s celebrations.
In 2026, the festival falls on a Friday, making the evening of 25 September the principal night of celebration, although activities and performances commonly take place during the days leading up to the full moon.