The Mid-Autumn lantern procession is a very distinctive cultural feature of many Asian countries, and especially Vietnam. The Legend of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Procession is also a topic that children often wonder about as the festival approaches. The article below will answer this topic so that parents can comfortably tell their children about this beautiful tradition.
The Legend of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Procession
The legend of the Mid-Autumn lantern procession has been passed down orally in the folk tradition for a long time. It tells of a buffalo herder named Cuội in a village who had a talent for making mischievous pranks and telling tall tales like no one else. Although he was very sly, he was much loved by the village children for the games while herding buffalo, whistling, flying kites,....
Then one day, Cuội's tall tales reached the Jade Emperor, who was furious at Cuội's slyness and banished him to the Moon. Living with him on the Moon was only a single ancient banyan tree, because the Jade Emperor thought if there was only a banyan tree for company, he would not be able to tell tall tales to anyone anymore.
Sitting beside the lifeless, inanimate banyan tree that cannot speak or laugh, Cuội misses home, misses the village, misses the other children, and the diligent buffalo that worked daily with Cuội. The children in the earthly realm also miss Cuội very much because there is no one left in the fields to play mischief with them anymore.
One night, the children, hand in hand, went to the riverbank to gaze at the full, wide moon shining down on the water, when suddenly a familiar silhouette flickered. It turned out Cuội was sitting under the banyan tree on the Moon crying, and the children hurriedly shouted to call Cuội, but no matter how loudly they yelled, Cuội could not hear. One child thought of gathering leaves into a pile and lighting them to attract Cuội's attention, but it still failed.
The children, powerless, bent down on their knees and cried; immediately a soft light shone from the sky, the Moon Goddess appeared and asked, “Why are you crying?” When hearing the children recount the Cuội story, the Moon Goddess was deeply moved.
The Moon Goddess showed the children all kinds of colorful lanterns and shapes to welcome Cuội. After making the lanterns, the Moon Goddess taught the children to light candles to create twinkling specks of light like stars in the sky. On the night of the full moon, the children lit lanterns, beat drums, and performed a lion dance to form a sweeping stream of light; the lantern light blended with the moonlight, allowing the children to see Cuội. Cuội, looking down from the Moon, saw the twinkling lights of the sky he lives in, and because of that Cuội misses home even more.
The Meaning of the Legend of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Procession
The above story not only explains Vietnam's Mid-Autumn lantern tradition but also teaches children about the consequences of bad deeds, such as Cuội's tall tales; if children do not want to be invited to the Moon like Cuội, they should not be cunning or lie to their parents
The Legend of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Procession begins with Cuội and the Moon Goddess, and that's how it goes. After reading this article above, Mykingdom hopes that parents will learn more about this fascinating folk tale, and at the same time preserve our country's annual lantern-procession tradition of Vietnam.
