Mid-Autumn Festival of Vietnamese community abroad

Tết Trung thu của cộng đồng người Việt ở nước ngoài — *A baby with mixed Belgian-Vietnamese blood and his father perform the song "Drum Rice" - Photo: VNA*

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the General Association of Vietnamese People in Belgium (UGVB) organizes the Mid-Autumn Festival - Family Day program for the Vietnamese community.

Mid-Autumn Festival towards flood areas

From all provinces and cities of the Kingdom of Belgium, on September 15, Vietnamese people gathered in the capital Brussels. From early morning, the La Petite Suisse children's playground in Ixelles district became bustling with colorful lanterns, fragrant food stalls and the cheerful laughter of children. Children, although born and raised abroad, still showed great interest and excitement with traditional lanterns and star lanterns, making the space even more lively. The special feature of this year's program was the traditional Ao Dai performance by families and children. The image of the graceful Ao Dai, bearing the mark of Vietnamese culture, created a warm, intimate space, connecting the two cultures of Vietnam and Belgium. In addition to cultural and artistic activities, the festival also held a food fair and unique traditional products. Here, booths selling a variety of familiar Vietnamese dishes such as moon cakes, pho, fried spring rolls, sticky rice, sweet soups, etc. attracted a large number of customers. Another meaningful activity within the framework of the fair was the sale of Vietnamese products by the charity Friends for Vietnamese Kids to raise funds for poor students in Bac Giang province. This year's event was even more meaningful with the presence of the Vietnamese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Nguyen Van Thao, and leaders of Ixelles district, where a large number of Vietnamese people live. In his opening speech, Mr. Huynh Cong My, Chairman of UGVB, asked all guests to observe a moment of silence in memory of the Vietnamese who died in the recent storm No. 3 (international name: Yagi storm), and at the same time called on the Vietnamese community in Belgium to continue to promote the tradition of "the strong help the weak", joining hands to share with the people in the northern region of Vietnam who are heavily affected by natural disasters. Ms. Audrey Lhoest, First Vice President of Ixelles District, in a graceful ao dai, expressed her joy at joining the Vietnamese community in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ixelles District President, Mr. Christos Doulkeridis, also shared his gratitude for the community spirit of the Vietnamese people. He reiterated his gratitude when during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese people donated medical masks to the locality, an act that demonstrated a valuable spirit of mutual support. He also did not forget to express his emotion at the resilience and solidarity of Vietnamese people in sharing the losses caused by storm No. 3. On this occasion, UGVB also called on people to donate to support compatriots in the country to overcome difficulties after the natural disaster. The sharing of overseas Vietnamese, whether in terms of effort or money, contributes to spreading love for the homeland.

Mid-Autumn Festival - a bridge of love

On the evening of September 15 (local time), the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival took place in the grounds of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, attracting a large number of Vietnamese people in Singapore as well as international friends to attend. The event was organized by the Liaison Committee of the Vietnamese Community in Singapore to preserve national culture, connect the community and look back to their roots together. The festival program has many diverse and attractive activities imbued with Vietnamese culture. In a space imbued with tradition with carp and star lanterns, visitors can take souvenir photos and experience interesting activities such as face painting, conical hat painting, making moon cakes, decorating lanterns, and making figurines. Visitors are also excited to return to their childhood with the children participating in folk games such as tug of war, sack jumping, bamboo jumping, shooting and receiving gifts. Speaking at the festival, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung emphasized that children in the community need to continue to be cared for and nurture their love for their homeland and country through knowing how to preserve Vietnamese traditions, customs and practices as well as knowing how to preserve and spread the Vietnamese language in Singapore. On this occasion, the Ambassador also called on the community to respond to the call of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, contributing to supporting compatriots in the country to overcome the consequences of storms and floods so that students in affected areas can soon resume school.

The program also took a minute to light candles to share the pain and loss with our compatriots in the country who were victims of the recent floods caused by storm No. 3.

Spread Vietnamese culture

On the evening of September 15, in the capital Vientiane, the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos coordinated with Bang Long Pagoda to organize the Mid-Autumn Festival for children of the Vietnamese community living and working in Laos. "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" is one of the annual activities. This is not only a familiar cultural activity that children of Vietnam and Laos in the capital Vientiane always look forward to every year, but it is also a bridge to spread Vietnamese culture closer to the people in the Land of a Million Elephants. In the sparkling lights, the carefully prepared and vibrant performances by students of the Lao-Vietnamese bilingual school Nguyen Du, with the subtle and funny guidance of Ms. Hang and Mr. Cuoi, brought the children to many different levels of emotions.

The Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association organized a Mid-Autumn Festival for Vietnamese children from September 13-15 at BB Park Center in Kuala Lumpur. About 100 children, children of officials and staff of the Embassy and representative agencies of Vietnam, and children of Vietnamese families in Malaysia, were excited and enthusiastic to attend the festival. Attending the Mid-Autumn Festival, the children participated in many folk games, listened to the stories of Cuoi and Hang, and especially made Dong Ho paintings under the guidance of members of the Vietnamese Club in Malaysia. Not only Vietnamese children but also international children were excited to participate in folk games and make moon cakes by themselves. In addition, the Organizing Committee also awarded certificates of merit to 12 children with high academic achievements and active participation in cultural and social activities and events of the community. On this occasion, the Vietnamese Embassy and the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association called on the Vietnamese community in Malaysia to join hands to support their compatriots in the country, especially those in the northern mountainous provinces. This year's festival featured Vietnamese food stalls and many traditional music and dance performances by actors from the Le Ngoc Theatre Troupe. At the ceremony, the Malaysia-Vietnam Friendship Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Le Ngoc Theatre Troupe to enhance cooperation and create favorable conditions for the troupe to participate in activities promoting Vietnamese culture to people in Malaysia in the future.

A meaningful moment in Vietnamese culture

In order to create solidarity and closeness between the Vietnamese peacekeeping force at the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Abyei (UNISFA Mission) and the local community and government of the host country, the Vietnam Engineering Team organized the "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" program at Highway Base. The "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" program had the participation of nearly 200 children. Here, the children were introduced to the Mid-Autumn Festival in Eastern culture in general and Vietnam in particular. Not only did they learn about the legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the banyan tree, and Cuoi through animated video clips in English, the children also performed group dances and songs with the Vietnam Engineering Team and played folk games. On this occasion, the Vietnam Engineering Team presented gifts to 10 outstanding students who had just passed the university entrance exam in Abyei; presented gifts to 5 classes at the Abyei church (including 5 bookshelves, toys, and books). The orphans in the Abyei church area were given 200 recycled toys by the Youth Union and Women's Union of the Engineering Team, which were made from recycled plastic bottles and scrap paper during the holidays. In particular, the children enjoyed the Mid-Autumn Festival feast together.

Speaking at the program, Major Nguyen Mau Vu, Political Commissar of the Vietnamese Engineer Corps, affirmed: "We, the Vietnamese blue beret soldiers, have long been a part of the Abyei community and always want to help this land with all our might. The Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a traditional holiday, but also a meaningful moment in Vietnamese culture. We hope that this is an opportunity for the children to feel the care, affection and attachment of the community around them". Ms. Catherine - Principal of the school in the Abyei church area, emotionally shared: "The children were very happy and joyful to attend the program. Even though you came from a strange country, with a different culture, you made them feel the love without distance. Thank you, brothers and sisters of the Engineer Corps! Thank you Vietnam!". The school in the Abyei church area is a place to care for and teach nearly 250 orphaned children of preschool age living in this area. The school has a total of 5 classrooms with 7 teachers, most of whom are volunteer teachers from other places. Previously, in the 2022-2023 term, the Vietnam Engineering Team built and donated 3 classrooms to the school. In the 2023-2024 term, the Team organized the provision of clean water, cartoon screenings (monthly activities), and gave many gifts including: Teaching facilities, books, pens, and food support for the school.

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