Vietnamese children "carry lanterns" for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Second-generation New Immigrants make “jelly mooncakes”

【Taiwan Immigrants’ Global News Network】Edited by Raymond Rodriguez

The Mid-Autumn Festival is fast approaching. To let the children of the new immigrants understand the traditional Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival culture, Wu Shi Fang Heng (武氏芳恆), the chairman of the Bali Care Association of New Taipei City (新北市八里關懷協會), specially brought the new second generation to the Happy Orchard (開心果園) to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in advance, by picking fruits and making Vietnamese jelly mooncakes and hand-made lanterns, to let the children try their mother’s authentic hometown taste, and also share interesting Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival customs for the readers of "Protect New Taipei City".

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The new second generation new immigrants pick fruits in the pomelo orchard to make jelly moon cakes. Photo/Provided by Bali Care Association

Chairman Wu Shi Fang Heng said that Vietnam and Taiwan both celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Vietnam, there is no custom of gathering to eat barbecues like in Taiwan. Instead, the family get together to drink tea and eat mooncakes. The day is also "Children's Day", which is most popular with children. Parents usually prepare various kinds of lanterns for the children to parade on the streets. There are also lively dragon and lion dances, and the children are all smiling and happy.

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Vietnamese jelly mooncakes are low in calories and colorful in appearance. Photo/Retrieved from "Vietnam News Agency"

In addition, pomelo and moon cakes are also eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam, especially the green-colored pomelo with red flesh like pomegranate, which is sold in big numbers every year. It is peeled and eaten directly, or it can be eaten with chili salt to bring out the sweetness of the pomelo. Many Vietnamese shops on the market sell the chili salt and you may wish to try it to add exotic flavor to your Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. The Vietnamese mooncakes are like Taiwanese mooncakes, but many families make jelly mooncakes, which is not only attractive to children but also have low calories. Many new residents also use colorful ingredients such as pomelo, dragon fruit, lotus seeds, and red beans as mooncake fillings for children to try their mother's hometown taste.