A season of love during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a time that all children eagerly anticipate, gathering around the moon-gazing feast, excitedly surrounded by star-shaped lanterns, accompanied by the lively sound of frog drums, and savoring the fragrant aroma of mooncakes made from glutinous rice flour… It is also an opportunity for adults to show their love, care, and attention to their children. Another new moon season brings another season of love and sharing…

Currently, the Center for Social Protection and Welfare is caring for over 90 individuals, including elderly people without family support, orphans, and children in particularly difficult circumstances. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the center's staff are busy preparing for the "moon festival night." Pairs of mooncakes, new clothes, traditional toys, and rehearsals for dances and songs are meticulously prepared as a way to express love to these orphaned children.

"Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. It's an occasion for loved ones to gather and show filial piety to parents and love to children. Even without blood relatives by their side, every year, the Mid-Autumn Festival always comes earlier for those being cared for at the center, especially the children, because of the care and sharing from the community."

"As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, many organizations and individuals come to the center to visit, give gifts, and coordinate camping and special cultural and artistic activities for the children. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the children here get to gather and enjoy the feast in the warmest and most joyful atmosphere," said Mr. Hoang Van Trung, Director of the Center for Social Protection and Work.

In that lively atmosphere, the children cared for here temporarily forget their sad childhood stories, devoting all their excitement to preparing for the interesting activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Thuc is a young girl being cared for at the Center. Thuc is here because her mother is serving a prison sentence. This is her second year celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with the other children at this special home, and Thuc no longer feels shy or lonely. "I'm actively practicing the performances with the other children at the Center to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'm really looking forward to that day, to wearing sparkling dresses, to singing and dancing, to watching the moon, and enjoying the feast..." - Thuc smiled, her eyes sparkling with joy.

A Mid-Autumn Festival performance by the children of the Provincial Center for Social Protection and Welfare.

Despite the unfavorable weather with heavy rain these days, preparations for the Mid-Autumn Festival are being carried out urgently by the youth union branches at all levels in Kim Son district. Like many other localities, the children in Kim Trung commune are also actively preparing their most outstanding performances to compete in the "Mid-Autumn Festival" which will be held at the commune's central cultural house on the evening of the 14th of August (lunar calendar). In all six cultural houses in the villages and hamlets of the commune, the sounds of drums, whistles, and familiar commands resound everywhere. The coastal countryside is even more lively and vibrant with the cheerful sounds and the colorful lanterns and revolving lights…

Comrade Pham Thi Thuy, Secretary of the Kim Trung Commune Youth Union, said: Currently, the entire commune has 1,500 children aged 1-15. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an opportunity for each family and community to show children love and allow them to experience a magical moonlit season. For Kim Trung commune, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, camping will be organized at the cultural centers of each hamlet. The Youth Union, in coordination with the schools, assigns teachers from all three levels to participate in setting up camps for the children in each hamlet; guiding them in making lanterns. On the day of the camping trip, each hamlet will also have cultural performances, ceremonial displays, and award prizes to outstanding students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds… followed by a lantern parade around the hamlet. Specifically, on the evening of the 14th day of the 8th lunar month, the Youth Union will organize a "Mid-Autumn Festival Night" at the commune's central cultural center. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children will participate in cultural and artistic activities, listen to stories about Cuoi and Hang, and enjoy other engaging folk games.

In order to create a beneficial and enjoyable playground for children and teenagers during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Standing Committee of the Kim Son District Youth Union, in coordination with the District Education Department and the District Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Department, developed an inter-agency plan to direct the Youth Unions of communes and towns to cooperate with the Principals of kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools to develop plans to organize Mid-Autumn Festival activities for children in the district.

The Standing Committee of the District Youth Union also directed the District Children's House to develop a plan and organize rehearsals for the Mid-Autumn Festival program on the evening of August 14th (lunar calendar), with activities such as gift giving and cultural performances. During the program, children will meet the characters of Cuoi and Hang through a Mid-Autumn Festival reenactment. Through this, they will gain a better understanding of the origin and meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the traditional customs of the nation.

Comrade Vu Thi Ben, Deputy Secretary of the Kim Son District Youth Union, said: In addition to organizing cultural and artistic activities for children during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Standing Committee of the Kim Son District Youth Union also pays special attention to orphaned children and children with particularly difficult circumstances through specific activities, so that all children can celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in a joyful and warm atmosphere.

In particular, the Standing Committee of the District Youth Union also investigates the circumstances of each child to call upon and mobilize companies, businesses, and philanthropists to provide regular support so that the children have more motivation to overcome difficulties and confidently continue their education.

In our province, there are approximately 3,000 children in special circumstances, such as orphans, abandoned children, children with disabilities, children infected with HIV/AIDS, children suffering from serious illnesses or diseases requiring long-term treatment, who belong to poor or near-poor households...

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Provincial Youth Union, and the Department of Education and Training also developed plans and issued guidelines to units and localities to direct and organize the Mid-Autumn Festival for children in a safe, economical, and healthy manner through activities such as arts, sports , folk games, moon festival celebrations, etc., suitable to the actual conditions of each place.

In particular, poor children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds always receive attention from provincial leaders, departments, organizations, and benevolent individuals. Gifts delivered directly to them, cultural performances in which they are the main actors… have contributed to bringing them a warm, fulfilling, and happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

Dao Hang - Minh Quang

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/mua-trung-thu-yeu-thuong/d20230922084218830.htm