With every full moon festival, Luong Nhu Hoc Street in District 5 is lit up with all kinds of festive merchandise.

With every full moon festival, Luong Nhu Hoc Street in District 5 is lit up with all kinds of festive merchandise.

For many Vietnamese, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on lunar August 15 (October 1 this year), is the second most important festival after the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

The festival is an occasion for a children’s night out and family gathering. Children enjoy performances like singing and lion dances, light up the night with colorful lanterns and enjoy mooncakes.

Muoi's store specializes in selling handmade cellophane and battery lanterns in many shapes and colors. He has been in the business for 20 years.

But this year, business didn’t go well for Muoi and many other traders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ly Ngoc Hien wears a stylized Chinese hat to attract buyers. She said although there are many people stopping by, not many actually bought lanterns or decorations for the festival.

"Sales were nearly halved compared to last year. Fortunately near the Mid-Autumn Festival, the situation is getting better as there are more and more visitors to the shop," he said.

Each shop has its own type of lanterns with different decorations, all handmade.

"I’ve been doing business here for more than 30 years, mainly selling handmade paper lanterns," said Tran Phu, a store owner.

The traders said this year, the best selling products are Vietnamese handmade paper lanterns, priced at about VND30,000 ($1.2) each. Other types of lanterns in larger sizes or meticulously crafted could cost hundreds of thousands of Vietnam dong.

This year taking photos is much easier as many stores no longer prohibit people to pose with their products.

A boy is mesmerized by the traditional colorful lanterns.

Trang, 38 years old (middle), said: "This is the first year I visited the lantern street, I liked it very much. I even rented outfits to take pictures. I also bought lanterns to support the store owner so I could comfortably take my photos."

Most of the visitors in the street do not wear face masks. Local authorities said the Covid-19 outbreak in the city has been put under control. No community transmissions have been recorded in Saigon in 54 days.

Luong Nhu Hoc lantern street opens from morning until late night. To explore the street, you can park your motorbike on Tran Hung Dao Street for VND20,000 (less than $1) and walk around.

Phu Binh villagers strive to preserve the craft of lantern making

Despite facing challenges from Covid-19 and the fierce competitiveness of imported toys, Phu Binh villagers in district 11, Ho Chi Minh City, have exerted every effort to preserve their craft of lantern making, which according to them, is not only a traditional practice of their ancestors but also helps to bring joy to children.

On dad’s shoulders, a world of lanterns sparkles

From the vantage point of their dads’ shoulders, many children are enjoying a bright, sparkling world on Luong Nhu Hoc Street in Ho Chi Minh city as the Mid-Autumn Festival is drawing near.

Fabric lanterns adorn Hanoi street for Mid-Autumn Festival

Thousands of fabric lanterns are decorating a section of Phung Hung Street in Hanoi's Old Quarter for the Mid-Autumn Festival this Friday.

Trang An's beauty in Autumn

Around 100km to the south from Hanoi, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in the northern province of Ninh Binh is one of the most popular and an attractive tourist destination in Vietnam.

'Cha com' brings taste of Hanoi’s autumn

Unlike other kinds of cha, such as cha ruoi (nereididae sandworm omelette), cha ca (charcoal grilled fish) and cha muc (fried patties with squid eggs), which are mainly composed of aquacultural ingredients, cha com is mainly made of com (young sticky rice flakes) and has the subtle scent of new rice. Other ingredients for the dish include lean pork and pork paste.

Source: VnExpress