Young people return to the old Mid-Autumn Festival through traditional toys
Báo Thanh niên•17/09/2024
Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four major Vietnamese festivals, taking place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. On this occasion, many young people want to return to the old Mid-Autumn Festival through traditional toys.
Since the beginning of the 8th lunar month, many artistic activities about the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hanoi have been held at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, the Hanoi Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Center, Hang Ma, etc. Here, traditional toys such as to he, clay figurines, star lanterns, and lanterns are widely displayed and introduced by artisans. This is also an opportunity for young people to talk and learn about the origin, manufacturing methods, and cultural values surrounding traditional artistic products.
Space for experiencing making star lanterns by artisan Nguyen Thi Tuyen
PHOTO: GIA AN
Fascinated by the star lanterns, Doan Linh Huong, a student at Hanoi Law University, expressed her special interest in this familiar toy. Huong said she loves traditional Vietnamese toys and is especially impressed with the star lantern. "When I was little, every Mid-Autumn Festival, when I went to Hang Ma or went to the neighborhood party, my parents bought me a star lantern. I was really attracted by the light shining through the cellophane creating many colorful colors. To me, the star lantern is like a familiar signal that the Mid-Autumn Festival has come," Huong said.
Linh Huong's childhood memories of Mid-Autumn Festival are associated with star lanterns.
PHOTO: GIA AN
Each traditional toy carries knowledge about history, culture, society and is conveyed in its own way, close and familiar. The law student hopes that more and more young people will learn more about traditional toys through activities and events to better understand the cultural values behind them. Having read about clay figurines for a long time, Nguyen Hong Phuc, a student at Foreign Trade University, has just had the chance to experience them in real life this year. "As soon as I heard that artisan Phung Dinh Giap was in Hanoi this Mid-Autumn Festival, I arranged my work to meet him and listen to him share interesting stories about clay figurines. Knowing each stage of making figurines and his dedication to preserving traditional cultural identity through these small folk toys, I feel his great love for coming from far away, bringing with him many products to introduce and spread cultural values to the community, especially young people," Phuc expressed.
Clay figurines attract young people because of their familiar shapes and eye-catching colors.
PHOTO: GIA AN
Meanwhile, Hoang Thu Trang, a student at Foreign Trade University, said that as a former literature major, she had researched and written articles about traditional Vietnamese culture, especially the Mid-Autumn Festival with many toys associated with young people. "For example, the to he figurine is a special part of my memory. Even though I'm grown up, I'm still very excited to hear the artisans who make to he tell stories, share how to knead dough, mix colors, create shapes, and personally mold my own to he figurine," Trang said.
Thu Trang chose to experience making to he figurines at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology this Mid-Autumn Festival.
PHOTO: GIA AN
Pham Hong Quan, a student at the National Economics University, believes that the Mid-Autumn Festival is an opportunity for young people to return to ancient cultural values. Quan confided: "As a generation that inherits good cultural values from their ancestors, I hope that young people will continue to preserve and promote these precious traditions not only domestically but also internationally. With traditional toys such as clay figurines, lanterns, and paper kites, it is easy to learn about them through articles and social networking sites such as YouTube, TikTok, etc., because you can read the content and still see the details of how to make them easily."
Hong Quan experiences folk toys at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
PHOTO: GIA AN
Associate Professor Dr. Vu Thi Phuong Hau, Director of the Institute of Culture and Development (Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics), said that young people should be encouraged to develop the trend of returning to traditional culture in many different ways and means.
"Learning about folk toys is to return to the traditional culture of the nation, to return to the cultural identity of Vietnam. Folk toys not only demonstrate the ingenuity and talent of the artisans, but also demonstrate the philosophies of life of our ancestors. Therefore, I think anyone who is deeply attached to the traditional culture of the nation will clearly see this as a good sign: the youth have not forgotten the traditional culture of the nation," Associate Professor Dr. Hau acknowledged.
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