The night of ‘Fairy’s Moon’ at Hoa Phuc Pagoda- Hanoi

With all innocence and vigorousness,

The young joyfully dance to the bustling beats of the lions' drums.

Under the bright moonlight, one mid-autumn,

The merry melodies about the love for life start to bloom.

(Nguyen Quang Tuyen)

Not only does Mid- Autumn Festival nourish the wonderful memories of children, but it also comes as an occasion that people gather for a party watching the moon. It symbolizes blessings as well as family reunion, a featuring aspect of Vietnamese culture.

With the aim of creating an interesting event for children as well as contributing to preserve cultural values and featuring tradition of our country, on 16 August Lunar Monkey Year (16.09.2016), monks and Buddhists from Hoa Phuc Pagoda in Hoa Thach Village, Quoc Oai District, Hanoi officially organised “the night of fairy’s moon”.

The festival commenced with the lively dances of Dragon and the God of Earth. It quickly drew the kids' attention to have them hurriedly gather in the main hall where the festival took place.

The festival officially started after the rituals of praying and wishing the children best luck in life. Senior Venerable Thich Tam Giai hoped all the kids would have a warm, memorable Mid-Autumn festival and always be the best children to inherit and continue their predecessors' path successfully.

The night of fairy’s moon at Hoa Phuc Pagoda was not only a playground for children but also a stage for tens of special performances by kids from Đao Hieu class in Hoa Phuc Pagoda, Hoa Phuc Kindergarten and from families of Hoa Phuc’s Buddhists.

After many great efforts put into rehearsing before the day of the festival, those little kids eventually became professional artists on stage. The performances were so impressive that the audience could neither hide their excitement nor refrain their admiration so as not to give thunderous applauses for the kids.

Not ceasing to lose its cheerfulness, the festival night added more joys to its air by welcoming on stage the two magicians Tran Anh and Thanh Tung with their entertainment talents.

To create a stronger connection between the audience and the performers, two amiable MCs dressed in Moon Lady and Moon Man’s costumes came down from the stage, asked the kids about their feelings and led them to play a game called “Red-Yellow-Green lights”.

The game itself contained helpful lessons of traffic safety, guiding the kids in bringing the rules into their daily lives so that they could protect their personal safety.

This event was held out of the idea to revive the children's activities traditionally seen during mid-autumn festival. They flocked together from villages to villages, following the Lion Dance parade and its bustling drumbeats. After the cheerfulness performance, the children queued up to have a party and received star lanterns prepared by the organisers.

Thousands of children and adults with lanterns in hands queued up laughed happily while singing the song “The Star Lantern”. They passed through roads which left a good impression in childhood memories of the children.

The night of fairy’s moon was a useful activity that helps children understand more about the Mid- Autumn Festival. Also, this was an educative traditional activity for the purpose of enhancing awareness, practising social skills and encouraging the children to feel great in their new academic year.

Following are photographs recorded: