Children "race" to go to school to make dragon heads for the Mid-Autumn Festival from cardboard

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the lion-making class attracts children and parents to participate. Clip: Trung Hieu.

Children are excited to create lion heads to play Mid-Autumn Festival

Days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a class teaching how to make a cardboard lion head in Hanoi was packed with young students.

Holding a 15cmx25cm lion head that has just dried, Le Bao Chau - a 4th grade student at a primary school in Hanoi confidently introduced the product he made. Bao Chau said: "I think these colors are very bright and when combined together they create a beautiful whole, so I chose them. Today I came here with my aunt, uncle and two cousins. I will bring this lion head home to decorate the yard for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival."

Putting on the lion head to play with her friends in class, Bao Chau couldn't help but get excited: "I see that the lion heads that my friends made are all very beautiful, each one has its own unique look. This is a product that I made myself, so I will use it often from now until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Before, I only saw lion heads on TV, today I got to try making one myself, which made me very excited."

Bao Chau (standing in the middle of the last row) and other children show off their handmade lion head after two hours. Photo: Trung Hieu.

Talking to Dan Viet reporter, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh - CEO of a unit organizing workshops on making lion heads in Hanoi shared: "The materials to make lion heads are all recycled and environmentally friendly, safe for children to use. I hope that through such activities, I caneducate children about the love of the environment, so that we can all join hands to create a more sustainable life."

According to Ms. Linh, each lion head making workshop usually has about 10 children participating. “The cost ranges from 200,000 VND to 350,000 VND. However, if parents book in advance, they will receive a 'learning incentive' fee for their children and a 25% discount. If the child is 10 years old or older, the father or mother will not have to pay any additional fees if they come along. However, if the child is younger and needs more help, we will charge an additional fee of 50,000 - 70,000 VND.”

Khoi Nguyen and his father are coloring a lion head product made from cardboard. Photo: Trung Hieu.

Although his hands were still stained with paint after participating in the lion head making experience, Tran Khoi Nguyen (7 years old, Hoang Mai) still insisted on asking his father to call his mother to show off their finished product. The 7-year-old boy introduced the steps of making a lion head clearly and distinctly through the phone screen: “After creating the shape, my father and I will cut it according to the shape of the lion head. The next step is to use tape to attach some decorative motifs such as beard, nose... Finally, the step is to color it to your liking.”

Khoi Nguyen could not hide his pride in his product as he repeatedly asked his father to take souvenir photos to “show off to his friends”. “I think the lion head I made today is very beautiful. When I go to school in a few days, I will bring it to play with my classmates, and I will also show them how to make a lion head as beautiful as mine,” said the second grader.

Taking advantage of the holiday, parents spend time going to school to make lion heads with their children.

After two hours of accompanying his son in the class of making a lion head from cardboard, Mr. Phan Thanh Tu (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) felt quite satisfied when his son had an interesting experience, from which he could learn more about the beauty of traditional culture. In particular, according to Mr. Tu, instead of taking his son on a holiday trip , he decided to choose an activity that both father and son could participate in in Hanoi to strengthen family ties.

“As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, making a lion head is very suitable. My child loves art, so when there are colors and brushes, he is very happy. I do not like 'industrial' toys or plastic items. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, I find traditional items for my child such as star lanterns, papier-mâché masks or lion heads…”, Mr. Tu shared.

Anh Tu took a souvenir photo of his daughter and the lion head product that the father and daughter made themselves. Photo: Trung Hieu.

Mr. Tran Hai Dang (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) said that he learned about the lion head making workshop through a friend's recommendation, so he decided to let his child try it out. He said: "Before coming, I simply wanted to have a few hours of relaxation and play with my child. However, after participating, I found this to be a necessary experience for my child."

“I think that children today should participate in activities that combine tradition and modernity. For example, learning to make a lion head by themselves will help them visualize that this is a cultural feature every Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam. Before coming here, my child did not know what a lion head was, but after seeing him enthusiastically making and creating products and then excitedly playing with his friends, I felt very satisfied,” Dang confided.

Mr. Dang expressed: “Modern people are very busy from morning to night. However, I will arrange to spend time with my child every evening and on weekends, holidays… to experience many activities together to strengthen the father-child relationship and help my child have a beautiful childhood.”

Source: https://danviet.vn/tre-em-dua-nhau-di-hoc-lam-dau-lan-choi-trung-thu-tu-bia-carton-20240902121702953.htm