Moon cakes

These are a sweet specialty found throughout Viet Nam in Mid-Autumn. If a cake is perfectly made, one can finish the entire treat without feeling bloated. If not. then even one slice can seem too much. The recipe determines how delicious, rich, or soft a cake is and how long it will last without spoiling.

Moon cakes are made with a variety of tastes, old and new. According to the manager of the Long Xuong Bakery in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Chinese people living around Chợ Lớn made the first moon cakes. A traditional Chinese moon cake should Taste sweet and fatty and should smell of therapeutic herbs. Some experienced bakers make the filling of these cakes with Chinese dried sausage, roast lean pork, and fish fins. They mix the ingredients with herbs and spices, especially dried ginger, in a special formula that offers both salty and sweet tastes.

Moon cakes made in northern Viet Nam are also sweet but less rich than those from the south. Their fillings often smell of lemon leaves, mandarin orange, and grapefruit peels. Deo (soft) moon cakes made in Ha Noi are especially delicious. The fragrance of grapefruit flowers emerges as soon as you bite into the coating of sticky-rice paste.

Some moon-cake producers in Ho Chi Minh City such as Kinh Do, Dong Khanh, Ai Hue, Hy Lam Mon also add mixtures of coconut and milk, taro root and milk, durian, green bean, and cocoa or hazelnuts. A few local bakers add whisky to give their cakes' filling a special taste. Thanh Long in Ho Chi Minh City even makes diet moon cakes that are cholesterol-free and taste less sweet.

Other cakes bear influences from beyond Viet Nam. The Equatorial Hotel makes Malaysian-style cakes from red beans and sesame oil. or lotus seeds and sweet-smelling leaves. They cover the cakes with a coating of chocolate. Hong Kong's Saint Honore Cakes also come in many flavours, including soybeans with orange flavour, white lotus, black beans, and lotus seeds with tea.

Most moon cakes are either round or square. However, some are shaped like pigs or fish.

Moon cakes can be eaten right after they are made, but they definitely taste belter when eaten at the right time. Traditionally, a moon cake is served three days after baking so that the oil in the filling can seep into the coating, making it soft and creating a delicious, rich taste. Newly baked cakes tend to be dry and hard. Today, however, according to Luu Lap Chanh. owner of Hy Lam Mon Bakery in Ho Chi Minh City, modern technology and new recipes allow the oil to seep into the coating in just twelve hours, although this makes the cakes less tasty than the traditional three-day method.

Moon cakes are often packed with sugar and calories. According to the Kinh Do Confectionery Company in 116 Chi Minh City, a 200-gram cake filled with green beans contains as many as 700 kilocalories. whereas an adult needs about 2.000 kilocalories a day for basic health. A moon cake has all the ingredienis for putting on weight: starch, fat. and sugar. Sugar accounts for between 40% and 60% of a cake's weight. Thus, an average 200-gram cake may contain more than 100 grams of sugar. Cakes that are high in sugar, roast pork, fatty meat, and oily fillings provide even more calories.

Moon cakes are easy to keep. During normal weather conditions, they can last fifteen days. Some vacuum-packed cakes, those packed in airtight boxes with humidity or oxygen absorbers, and
those treated with ultraviolet rays may last longer, but ihey still should be eaten within one month. Consumers should be careful about cakes that are kept in normal conditions yet seem to last several months; !he producer may have used an anti-mold agent, which is believed to be harmful to health.

The Mid-Autumn festival

Every year, on the 15th day of the 8th month in lunar calendar, the children throughout the country in Vietnam are given permission by their parents to march in a procession and carry their lanterns, to eat the Mid-Autumn Festival cakes and to perform the dragon (unicorn) dance, oh, how great and uproarious they are!

This Festival is called "Mid-Autumn Festival" - or also called Children's Festival. Do you know why we have this special festival?

Actually, this tradition of celebrating the Mid-autumn Festival began since the Duong Minh Hoang era in China, at the beginning of the 8th century (713-755).

According to ancient manuscripts, on the eve of the 15th day in the 8th month, while the Emperor Duong and his mandarins gazed at the moon, the Emperor wished that if only he could visit the Palace on the Moon. A magician named Dieu Phap Thien (also known as La Cong Vien) offered to take the Emperor to the moon by performing a number of magic tricks.

Upon arriving at the Moon Palace, the Emperor Minh Hoang was welcomed by a Fairy God who prepared a banquet and entertained the Emperor Duong. There were hundreds of beautiful fairies wearing the thin silk gaudy clothes, each of them held a long white silk piece in hand, threw it into the air, danced, and sang in the court, this dance and song is called the Nghe Thuong Vu Y (Nghe Thuong Cloth Dance).

The Emperor enjoyed this dance very much. Since the Emperor had an aptitude for music, he showed a keen interest and admiration for the dance, while at the same time trying to memorize the fairy song and dance by heart. The Emperor wanted to bring this song and dance back to the Imperial Palace for entertainment.

At the end of that year, a Governor ruling over the Tay Luong Country brought with him a group of female dancers who performed the Ba-la-mon dance.

The Emperor discovered that this Ba-la-mon dancing style shared a lot of similarities to Nghe Thuong Vu Y dance and song. He combined the two songs and dances styles into one, and called it the Nghe Thuong Dance and Cloth Style.

Later, the mandarins adopted the Nghe Thuong Dance and Cloth style from their Emperor, took this song and dance style and gradually introduced it to everyone in their far ruling countries. The tradition of gazing at the moon, and watching the dance and song later became a traditional event on eve of the Mid-Autumn celebration.

The Mid-Autumn Festival spread throughout the neighboring countries and vassal kingdoms of China. The Vietnamese Annals did not reveal from what precise time the Mid-Autumn Festival tradition was introduced in the country. They only know that, for centuries, their ancestors have followed this tradition.

Starting from the beginning of August in lunar calendar, the markets are filling of nuances of Mid-Autumn Festival. Lanterns, moon cakes, white coconut cakes are sold everywhere in the splendidly lighted shops. The streets are full of people buying and those who wander at leisure all crowding and pushing one another in these festival-like days.

Besides the assorted paper lanterns, cakes, candies, there are toy animals made of rice dough, the dragon (unicorn) heads and faces of the Earth God made of paper are displayed everywhere in the markets. In the rich families, the mid-autumn banquet is made in order to show up their nubile girls' cooking abilities.

On the precisely 15th day of August, in the great cities, such as Hanoi, Hue, Saigon, there are the lion, dragon (unicorn) dances. This is a truly animated sight.

At the time when Vietnam was still under the French domination, the protectorate government did not want people gathering in crowds for fear of a revolt. The French government did not allow adults to organize the dragon and lion dances during the Mid-Autumn Festival, only children were allowed to participate. Since then, the Mid-Autumn Festival became the Children's Festival.

However, the adults meet their friends in small groups, sing songs, and recite poetry.

In many Western countries where the Vietnamese refugee children are living, there is a special festival day for children called Halloween. On this day, the children dress themselves up as sorcerers, supermen, monsters; they swarm in many bands, and scare people while asking for candies. What a fun sight!

However, Halloween seems very similar to the Vu-Lan day in Vietnam. According to ancient’s superstition, on the Vu Lan day, the spirits are released from Hell to the Land of the Living in order to have a good time. So, every family prepares to feast offering to the spirits. The offerings are then distributed to children and the poor people.

Living far away from our country, does any of you, children, at any time wish to come back one day to our freedom country, so that you can carry the lanterns while making a procession, eating cake and receiving gifts of celebration during the Mid-Autumn Festival together with the children who are still in our country?
We hope that this day will come very soon

Festival Hue

On the theme “Cultural heritage with integration and development”, Hue Festival 2008 officially opened on the evening of June 3 at Ngo Mon (Noon Gate) Square. Present at the opening ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, and a number of domestic and foreign officials.

Chairman of the central Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Thien, affirmed that great festival of culture and tourism aims to promote the unique cultural values of Vietnam and the ancient city of Hue. It will also help to expand international integration and accelerate socio-economic development.

The festival started with Dem Hoi Hoang Cung (Royal Palace Festival Night) with the participation of artists from 62 domestic and foreign art troupes and thousands of Hue citizens and visitors.

In addition to performances by Vietnamese artists, foreign art troupes also joined the opening ceremony entitled “Meeting 2008”, such as Chinese dancers doing the traditional silk dance, a Japanese group performing the Yosudake Odori dance, and Belgium artists with Vietnamese conical hats walking on stilts. Artists from the Republic of Korea presented a fan dance while French artists wearing the Vietnamese Ao Dai (traditional long dress) played bronze wind instruments. Russian children from the Kalinka troupe also performed an eye-catching traditional dance.

From June 4, a series of art performances and other activities such as circus shows, street performances, and exhibitions will take place at Dai Noi (Royal Palace), An Dinh Palace, and other locations around the city.

The five main events including the King Quang Trung’s Coronation Ceremony on Ban Mountain, a Heaven Worshiping Ritual at Nam Giao, a revival of the Military Doctorate Examination under the Nguyen Dynasty, a Land Worshiping Ritual at Xa Tac and a programme on the Legend of the Huong River will be highlights of the festival.

Quan The Am VietNam cultural festival

The Quan The Am Cultural Festival is organized on the 19th day of the second month (lunar calendar) every year with cultural activities which help restore and promote the traditional culture of Viet Nam.

The festival is held on Ngu Hanh mountain, in Danang City, Vietnam. The Quan The Am Festival was first organized in 1962, for the inauguration of the Avalokiesvara Buddhisattava statue in Hoa Nghiem cave at Thuy Son Mount, in the Marble Mountains of Vietnam. The same year, the festival was reorganized in Kim Son cave after the construction of the Quan The Am Pagoda on the Kim Son Mount. Until 1991, this festival was organized annually on a large scale and celebrations lasted for three entire days.

The Quan The Am Festival consists of two parts: the religious ceremony and the festival itself. The ceremony, similar to Buddhist rituals, consists of flower offerings and prayers. The Dharma-preaching sessions about Avalakiesvara Buddhisattava are also very interesting.

Several cultural activities bearing the national colors of Vietnam, such as singing folk songs, chess playing, music, painting, carving, lion dancing, offering lamps on the river, and classical opera also take place. The Quan The Am Festival is organized on the 19th day of the second lunar month; this festival, as well as many others, is held in an attempt to restore and promote the traditional culture of Vietnam.

Do Son Buffalo fighting VietNam festival

Although the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival is officially held on the 9th of the 8th lunar month in Hai Phong,Vietnam, preparations start several months before. Fighting buffaloes must be carefully selected, well fed, and trained. The selection of the official fighting buffaloes starts in May when qualification matches take place in small villages. Only 6 buffaloes will participate in the final fight.The festival begins with a procession to the communal house where offerings from several little villages are presented to the gods; such gifts include a buffalo, a pig, and a basket of sticky rice. The procession, in which the buffaloes are covered with red cloth, also includes 12 young Vietnamese men, also dressed in red, who take the buffaloes to the fighting circle.After the young men perform the "Opening the match" dance, a pair of buffaloes are led into the fighting circle. The two buffaloes fight until the defeated gives up and run away. The winner then goes on to fight another buffalo until a final winner is determined.

Ba Den Moutain Festival

Time: Spring Festival: From the 15th to the 18th day of the first lunar month; Via Ba Festival lasting from the 5th to the 6th day of the fifth lunar month.
Place: Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh Province.
Objects of worship: Linh Son Thanh Mau (Linh Son Saint Mother - Ba Den).
Characteristics: Two big festivals annually.
Spring Festival
The Ba Den Mountain Spring Festival is much boisterous than Via Ba Festival. Pilgrims go there for religious reasons as well as for sightseeing. The landscape displays its beauty in the fine weather. In the 20km-long route from Tay Ninh to the foot of Ba Den Mountain pilgrims from near and far crowd the road.

Via Ba Festival
The festival is held on the 5th to the 6th day of the fifth lunar month. At 0:00 hours on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month the Tam Ba (the statue washing of the Sacred Lady) ceremony takes place solemnly in the worshipping altar. An elderly woman directs this ceremony. After burning incense to ask for the Lady’s permission, she and other assistants clean the statue with pure water, then with fragrant water. After three times of cleaning, they wear a new outfit for the statue and kow-tow before the statue. Lights inside the temple are switched on, incense burned, and doors open to welcome visitors.

Early in the morning of the 5th day of the fifth lunar month the chanting of Buddhist sutras signals the opening of the main festival day. Until 6 a.m monks in yellow outfit from nearby pagodas come to carry out the ritual in the ceremonial hall. During this day incense is burned continuously in the altars of Linh Son Thanh Mau, the Ba Chua Xu (Local Goddess), Buddha, or Ho Phap (Guardians).

Ten offerings presented to the altar of the Sacred Lady includes incense, oil lamp, flowers, tea, cinnamon, alcohol, vegetarian it cake, a pair of necklace, bracelet and earrings (three things of them are paper votive objects). Those serving the ceremony wear ceremonial costumes and walk to the accompaniment of music. After the incense offering ceremony, the monks pray the Buddhist sutras. The ceremony lasts two hours from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. On the 6th day of the fifth lunar month several rituals are held. The monks read Buddhist sutras in the altar dedicated to Buddha. The temple is open for pilgrims near and far from early in the morning until late at night.

New Year festival

Tet has become so familiar, so sacred to the Vietnamese that when Spring arrives, the Vietnamese, wherever they may be, are all thrilled and excited with the advent of Tet, and they feel an immense nostalgia, wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of the particular flavours of the Vietnamese festivities.

Tet starts on the first day of the first lunar month and is the first season of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), and therefore it is also known as the Tet Nguyen Dan, literally meaning Fete of the First Day, or the Tet Tam Nguyen, literally meaning Fete of the Three Firsts.

The Vietnamese, wherever they may be, are all thrilled and excited with the advent of Tet, and they feel an immense nostalgia, wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of the particular flavours of the Vietnamese festivities. Those who have settled down abroad all turn their thoughts to their home country and try to celebrate the festivities in the same traditional way as their family members and relatives to relieve their nostalgia, never forgetting the fine custom handed down from generation to generation.

The Tet of the New Year is, above all, a fete of the family. This is an opportunity for the household genies to meet, those who have helped during the year, namely the Craft Creator, the Land Genie and the Kitchen God. As the legend goes, each year on December 23 of the lunar calendar, the Kitchen God takes a ride on a carp to the Heavenly Palace to make a report on the affairs of the household on earth and then returns on December 30 to welcome the New Spring.

Tet is also an opportunity to welcome deceased ancestors back for a family reunion with their descendants. Finally, Tet is a good opportunity for family members to meet. This custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet their loved ones

Vietnamese Tet has quite a few original practices with customs and entertainment that have distinct Vietnamese cultural characteristics. In the framework of this article, a few customs and practices are presented so that readers can better understand the traditional Tet of Vietnam.

Planting the Neu:

Long long ago, humans and devils co-inhabited the earth. The devils overwhelmed the former and invaded their land. Buddha told the devils: "I will hang my cassock on top of the bamboo, and wherever the shadow falls is Buddha's land, and you devils must give it to men." The devils agreed. So after planting the bamboo, Buddha flung his robe to the top and made the bamboo higher by means of magic; as a result, the cassock overshadowed the whole land and the devils were chased to the East Sea. Then the devils prayed to Buddha for permission to return to the mainland for a three day visit to their ancestors' tombs on the occasion of Tet. For this reason, Neu is often planted on this occasion. It is a bamboo pole with green leaves, an eight sign amulet and earthen bells hung from its top. Lime powder is scattered round its base to allow the painting of cross-bows and arrows to chase away the devils or keep them at bay.

The "Mam Ngu Qua":

The "five-fruit tray" on the ancestral altar during the Tet Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors, and demonstrates their aspiration for a life of plenty. As one theory goes, the five fruits are symbolic of the five basic elements of oriental philosophy: metal,wood, water, fire, and earth. Some people believe that the five fruits are symbols of the five fingers of a man's hand that is used to produce physical wealth for his own use and to make offerings to his ancestors. However, in a simpler way, the five fruits represent the quintessence that Heaven and Earth bless humans. This is one of the general perceptions of life of the Vietnamese, which is "When taking fruit, you should think of the grower". Today, the tray may contain five or more fruits, in the form of a pyramid like before or in an different shape. Regardless, it is still called the Mam Ngu Qua, the five-fruit tray.

Dao, Mai, Quat (the Peach, Apricot and Kumquat):

Coming to Vietnam during the season of the Tet festival, the visitor is engulfed in an ocean of colourful flowers. Visiting flower shows, contemplating the buds and blooms, and purchasing blossoms represents one of the distinct Vietnamese cultural characteristics. Poor or rich, the northern people cannot go without a twig of peach blossom in their homes, while the southerners, a small branch of apricot blossom, together with a pot of Kumquat. The peach and the apricot blossoms are symbols of the Vietnamese Tet. The warm pink of the peach could very well match the dry cold of the North, but the hot South seems to be flourishing in the riot of the yellow of the apricot. The mandarin is symbolic of good fortune and, therefore, people tend to choose the little plants laden with fruit, big and orange, and verdant leaves for a longer display.

The Cau Doi (Parallels):
Composing, challenging and displaying parallels represents an elegant cultural activity of the Vietnamese. On the occasion of Tet, parallels are written on red paper and hung on both sides of the gate, the pillars or the ancestral altar. Each pair of parallels has an equal number of words with contrasting or corresponding meanings and lines of verses. They show a keen intelligence, perception of nature and social life, uphold morality and a yearning for the well-being of all people. The red is symbolic of auspicious and powerful vitality, according to popular belief. Mingling with the green of the banh chung, the pink of the peach blooms, the yellow of the apricot blossoms, and the red of the parallels is sure to make the Spring warmer and cozier.

The Giao Thua (New Year's Eve):

The Giao Thua is the most sacred point of time, the passage from the old to the new year. It is popularly believed that in Heaven there are twelve Highnesses in charge of monitoring and controlling the affairs on earth, each of them taking charge of one year. The giao thua is the moment of seeing off the old chieftain upon the conclusion of his term and welcoming in the new one upon his assumption of office. For this reason, every home makes offerings in the open air to pray for a good new year.

After the giao thua is the start of the new year with many customs and practices, amusements and entertainment, all of a distinct Vietnamese folk culture. If you have an opportunity to visit Vietnam during the Tet Holidays and to welcome the Tet Festivities, together with the Vietnamese people, you will surely be profoundly impressed by the distinct traditional culture that is rich in national identity.

During the first three or four days of Tet, the first houseguest to offer Tet greetings is considered the "first visitor of the year" (xong dat). Their luck is considered to have a strong effect on the homeowner's business success for the upcoming year. The belief of xong dat remains very strong nowadays, especially among business people.

Food specialties for Tet

Like many other people in the world, the Vietnamese people attach special attention to the celebration of Tet (lunar new year holidays). To prepare for this event, beside reconfiguring the interior of their homes to make them look more beautiful, they pay great attention to the preparation of food specialties, so that they can have delicious and flavourfuI meals for their visitors on the occasion of the new year.
In the Vietnamese language, there is a special expression An Tet which literally means "eat the Tet", but which embraces the meaning of celebrating the event with all traditional activities involved, including eating. Eating is important on the new year holidays.

On the last day of the old year, the preparation of food to offer to the ancestors is of special significance. Dishes to offer to the ancestors differ in the Northern, Central and Southern parts of the country, depending on their respective weather conditions at the time and on different local agricultural products available. What is common in all regions of the country during Tet holidays are the varieties of soups, and fried, boiled, and stewed dishes.
In the North, the menu for the Tet banquet includes pig trotters stewed with dried bamboo shoots, boiled chicken, carp cooked in salted sauce, jellied meat, and kohlrabi, cauliflower or onion fried with pig skin or lean pork. Thus, the menu includes meat, fish and vegetables. In addition, there are two other items that can not be missed: Banh chung (square cake made of glutinous rice, pork and green beans wrapped in the dong leaves and boiled) and pickled onions. As one eats much meat during Tet, one should eat some sour pickled onions to facilitate digestion.

In Hue, the ancient imperial city, located in the Central part of the country, the culinary art reached its best in feudal times with hundreds of dishes created for the occasion of Tet for the kings and the royal family. Now during Tet holiday, every family in Hue has Banh tet (round shaped glutinous rice cake), sugarcoated coconut, roasted melon seeds, and different pork dishes. The menu may also include beef cooked with garlic and garligale, various kinds of meat pies such as gio thu (pig's head meat pies), cha lua (pork bologna), grilled shrimp pies, boned pig's trotter stuffed with meat, nem chua (fermented pork hash), pickled scallion, unripe banana cooked in sweet and sour sauce. Preserved fruits are also masterpieces of Hue women. Women here make all kinds of preserved fruit such as ginger, waxy pumpkin, apple, orange, lemon and carrot in various shapes and colours. To welcome Tet is to welcome the spring. However, in January, which is spring time, the weather is still cold. It is a good idea to warm up with a cup of hot tea and a slice of preserved ginger. In Hue, ginger is grown on the hills. A ginger root from Hue is not as big as the ones grown in Hanoi, but it has a golden yellow colour and a special flavour.

In the South, with Ho Chi Minh City as the centre, every family has a pot of pork cooked in coconut milk with salt. As the coconut tree is very popular in his region, the Southerners are accustomed to making use of its milk or its oil when they prepare food, which gives cooked food a special flavour. Pork cooked in coconut milk should have all the skin, fat and lean sections. When done, the fat section looks transparent and the lean one turns reddish with the flavour of coconut milk. Also, there are pickled green bean sprouts with leeks, sliced carrot and turnip. When you eat pickled bean sprouts with pork cooked in coconut milk, you will enjoy it and never get sick of it. As it is warmer in the South than in the North and the Central region, cooked meat is more popular in the North as it stays unspoiled for a longer time. Another favourite for many people is bitter melon stuffed with meat. It is believed by many older people that bitter melon is antipyretic, nutritious and may treat many diseases. Banh tet and banh trang (rice waffle) are a must on the Tet menu. Vegetables, boiled or cooked meat and pickled bean sprouts wrapped in a thin banh trang make a good dish in hot weather. Banh tet usually goes well with dried turnips soaked in fish sauce.

The foods that the Vietnamese eat at Tet are varied and diverse What they have in common is that the people throughout the country all want to have the best and the most beautiful looking food on this occasion to offer their ancestors and to treat their friends and guests.

The Banh Chung:

As the legend goes, the Banh Chung came into being under King Hung, the national founder, 3,000 4,000 years ago. Prince Lang Lieu, one of the sons of King Hung, made round and square cakes: the round Banh Day symbolizing the sky, and the square Banh Chung symbolic of the earth (under the ancient Viet's perception) and offered them to his Father on the occasion of Spring, and ever since the Banh Chung has been a "must" during the Tet holidays. The Banh Chung is very nutritious, has an original tasty flavour and may be kept for a long time. All of its ingredients and materials, from the green wrapping leaves to sticky rice and pork, green peas and pepper inside, are all medicines (according to Oriental Medicine) that act to keep harmony between the positive and the negative, thus helping the blood circulate well and preventing diseases. Certainly, no other cakes could be of such cultural significance and produce such medical effects as the green Banh Chung of Vietnam