On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the 2-storey house of Mr. Truong Viet Dung (74 years old) located in a small alley on Ly Tu Trong Street (Bac Ha Ward, Ha Tinh City) becomes a workshop producing traditional lanterns for children.
Mr. Viet Dung started making traditional handmade Mid-Autumn lanterns since 1990.
"I am a veteran who fought in the battlefields. Returning to my hometown, I worked in many different jobs. Every autumn, memories of the difficult but meaningful Mid-Autumn Festival with the star lanterns my parents prepared for their children come flooding back to me. That motivates me to research, learn and start making lanterns in the hope of preserving the tradition," the old man shared.
74-year-old man has been "keeping the soul" of traditional Mid-Autumn lanterns for more than 30 years ( Video : Duong Nguyen).
For over 30 years, Mr. Dung has been making traditional Mid-Autumn lanterns. On this occasion, he is busy preparing materials such as bamboo sticks, cardboard, colored paper, etc.
After that, he continued with many steps of splitting, shaving bamboo, building frames, and decorating. All of these were meticulously and skillfully implemented by the 74-year-old craftsman to create lanterns in different shapes such as rabbits, carps, chickens, candy, and most of all, star lanterns.
"The star lantern must have a picture of Uncle Ho in the middle to be meaningful. Uncle Ho loved children very much, cared a lot about the Mid-Autumn Festival as well as cared for the generations that will be the pillars and future foundations of the country. Therefore, the star lanterns I make always have a picture of Uncle Ho with the meaning that the leader will live forever in the hearts of the nation and children," said Mr. Dung.
In previous years, when he finished making the lamps, Mr. Dung would put the products on his motorbike and ride around the streets and neighboring districts to sell them. Now, because he is old, he puts up banners with advertising words and sells them at home. His products have become famous in the province over the years, and many customers come to his house to order them.
To each guest who comes, the 74-year-old man enthusiastically introduces and explains the meaning of each traditional lantern he makes, especially the five-pointed star lantern with the image of Uncle Ho in the middle.
According to Mr. Dung, each large Mid-Autumn lantern 1.5m long is sold by him for 300,000-350,000 VND, the 1.2m long type costs 250,000 VND, the small handheld type from 50cm to 1m costs 100,000 VND.
"My customers are agencies, departments, companies, schools, and families. They have already ordered lanterns at the beginning of the season, and the products are sold out a few days before Mid-Autumn Festival. My daily revenue from selling lanterns is 1-2 million VND, and on some days it is up to 3-4 million VND.
Besides bringing in income, what makes me happiest is that the job helps children celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with traditional toys, not flashing lights or violent toys like knives, swords, and plastic guns," Mr. Viet Dung shared.
The 74-year-old veteran couple has two children (a boy and a girl) and three grandchildren. The children are all grown up and have their own lives. In their free time, the couple watches TV, goes for walks, exercises and visits their old comrades. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mr. Dung will make handmade lanterns to order or to serve Buddhist ceremonies or Catholic Christmas.
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