Hoi An Lantern Festival: Dates and Top Things To Do

If you intend to go to Danang or Hoi An, you should not miss this unique Vietnam event. Hoi An Lantern Festival occurs one evening per month. We will walk you through the Hoi An Lantern Festival 2024 dates and what you can see at this celebration.

What is Hoi An Lantern Festival?

Held in the historic town of Hoi An, Vietnam, the Hoi An Lantern Festival also referred to as the Full Moon Lantern Festival, is a customary celebration Every lunar month, this celebration falls on the 14th day when the moon is largest and most brilliant.

Festival of the full moon Hoi An The town's electric lights are shut out during the celebration, and hundreds of brilliant lanterns cover the streets. Made from several materials, including silk and paper, the lanterns have varying forms and sizes and they include exquisite and complex patterns.

Lantern festival in Hoian

The Hoi An Lantern Festival's centerpiece is the floating lantern release on the Thu Bon River. Small lanterns bought by visitors and residents are wished upon the river and drift downstream to create an amazing visual show. This deed is supposed to bring luck and pleasure.

Along with customs at the nearby temples, the celebration features cultural events and traditional sports. The whole town turns into a bustling and energetic location drawing both residents and visitors.

In addition to honoring the splendor of the full moon, the Hoi An Lantern Festival highlights Hoi An's rich cultural legacy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site noted for its well-preserved architecture and antique appeal.

How is Hoi An Lantern Festival celebrated?

Every vehicle in the town is momentarily stopped on the day of the Hoi An traditional festival, from roughly 5 until 10 p.m. All the houses, eateries, and cafes also turn off their electric lights in parallel. When the full moon and thousands of lanterns cover the entire neighborhood, lending a wonderful brightness.

Arriving here at this hour, you are free to stroll about and savor the serene surroundings. This is also the ideal moment to savor several outstanding performances carried out beside the river with poetry or music events.

Furthermore, there are some old events planned, including folk games. Along with seeing the Hoi An lantern festival, you will be tantalizing your taste senses. There are some delicious street dishes just waiting for you.

Read more: Kim Bong Carpentry Village In Hoian

Top activities at Hoi An lantern festival

Watch Hoi An's night dazzling beauty

Hoi An's little streets are yours to discover as automobiles and electric lights switched off on the festive day.

Just meandering around and appreciating the hanging lanterns that liven up Hoi An will help you to appreciate the enchanting atmosphere of the largest festival even if you do not have enough time to visit all the sites.

Hoi An on the festive night will wear a different magnificent coat, which will hopefully leave a mind-blowing impression if Hoi An has stunned you with its calm beauty throughout the day.

Read more: Hoian Night Market: Magic Of The Moonlight

Participate in many traditional activities

You will encounter residents of the historic town engaged in board games, folk events, and live music as you stroll about. Beautiful folk singing, poetry recitals, and locally used instruments such bamboo flutes, fiddles, and drums abound in the music. 

Furthermore very popular is Bai choi, a traditional performance combining music, poetry, and acting, during Hoi An lantern festival. In 2017 it appeared on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Recitals of poetry and music express the pride of the residents in their daily life and work.

Between all the singing is a card drawing game like to bingo. Playing the game will help you to become totally submerged in the environment. If not, observing others engage will still help one to experience the joyful atmosphere of Hoi An lantern festival.

Buy and deploy lanterns on the poetic Hoai River

One of the most awaited events in Hoi An lantern festival is buying paper flower lanterns along the riverbank to release on Hoai River. Made of painstakingly cut and folded vibrant paper, the flower lanterns here cost roughly 5,000 VND apiece.

Release paper flower lanterns on Hoai River

Traveling down the river and releasing your lantern on the water can be done on a sampan, a classic wooden boat. Under local belief and practice, every light stands for a wish for inner peace, good fortune, and happiness. The floating lanterns will create glittering reflections in the middle of the night that sweep over a whole length of river.

Try many Hoi An street food

Among the tastiest meals in Vietnam are found in Hoi An. Arriving at the lantern festival in Hoi An, you shouldn't miss the mouthwatering street cuisine including:

Cao lau is raw greens, beansprouts, crispy croutons, Japanese udon-like noodles, bits of barbecued pork like Chinese char siu, and a local sauce. 

A bowl of Mi Quang, or quang noodles, usually consists of flat rice noodles, a little bone broth, pig, beef, or chicken pieces, prawns, and quails eggs. The meal is consumed with fresh veggies, rice crackers, herbs like basil, peanuts, mint, and coriander.

Mi Quang

Com ga (chicken rice) consists mostly of shredded poached chicken and seasoned pilaf rice. Often presented alongside salads of shredded green papaya and carrots, onions, and herbs to counter the tastes is balance.

Banh Mi Hoi An is packed with several fillings like pig, fried eggs, pate, chicken, and handmade sour sauce, . Its abundance of veggies includes lettuce, cucumbers, pickled carrots, and coriander as well. Every mouthful of a banh mi combines spicy, salted, sweet, and crispy tastes exactly.

Banh Mi Hoi An

Hoi An Lantern Festival Dates 2025

Here is the schedule for the Hoi An Lantern Festival in 2025:

Month	Festival Date
January	January 13, 2025
February	February 11, 2025
March	March 13, 2025
April	April 11, 2025
May	May 11, 2025
June	June 9, 2025
July	July 8, 2025
August	August 7, 2025
September	September 5, 2025
October	October 5, 2025
November	November 3, 2025
December	December 3, 2025

Apart from a variety of fascinating events appealing to visitors of different ages, Hoi An lantern festival is a fantastic stop for your next trip!

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