If you visit Vietnam in the fall, don't miss Tết Trung Thu, sometimes called the Mid Autumn Festival or the "Children's Festival." It is celebrated with vibrant lanterns, traditional mooncakes, and energetic street entertainment, This mid autumn festival lanterns is a popular festival in Vietnam.
It falls on October 6 2025, during the eighth lunar month, but the joyful energy begins weeks ahead. Here's what you need to know to enjoy this enchanted vacation.
Overview of Mid Autumn Festival
While the Mid-autumn Festival originates in China and is observed in many Asian countries, Vietnamese version offers distinctive rituals and legends for exploration. Our most well-known tale revolves around Cuội, a man who caught onto a magical banyan tree as it floated up to the moon.
Family eating moon cake
An inspection of the full moon could reveal the outline of a guy seated under a tree. Children thus carry lights in the streets the night of the Mid Autumn Festival to lead Cuội from the moon towards the earth.
Mid Autumn event marks the harvest with considerable relevance since many Vietnamese people live in rural areas and work as farmers. In addition, Tet Trung Thu marks a triumphant event when the job is done and one has time to see loved ones.
Read more: Top 10 Traditional Festivals In Vietnam That You Must Experience 2025
Top things to do in Mid Autumn Festival
Get ready for the Mid Autumn celebration
The weeks before Mid Fall festival, toys abound in Vietnamese cities because they are a great festival for youngsters.
Weeks before Mid Autumn day, you will see and hear groups of lion dancers practicing on the streets. Mooncake booths and pop-ups with artistically decorated boxes stuffed with a variety of moon cakes abound everywhere.
City districts sell toys, lanterns, and colourful masks before Mooncake Festival. You will see these red cellophane lanterns for sale on streets all over Vietnam in the days before the event.
Young woman takes a photo at Mid Autumn Festival in Vietnam
Mid Autumn celebration
On the night of the full moon, children with vividly colored lanterns walk their streets chanting songs. You will find one man dancer wearing a spherical happy-faced mask symbolic of the moon.
He exhorts the lion dancers and thrills the audience with his funny movements. It reminds viewers to thank you for all, here is the planet God, Ông Địa, representing the completion of the earth. Every Vietnamese child smiles and is delighted from Ông Địa.
Mooncakes all across Vietnam
Families welcome Mid Autumn holiday across Vietnam by setting our ancestral altar with a five-fruit tray and sweets. Usually outside under the moon, they show our ancestors the meal before eating mooncakes and pray. These cakes, round or square, are carved with complex floral, geometric, carp and geometric motifs.
Moon cakes
The two most regularly occurring kinds are bánh dẻo, soft, sticky cakes with a mochi texture, and bánh nướng, baked cakes with a thick wheat crust. Vietnamese mooncakes have tastes ranging from apparently limitless sweet and savory combinations. You should get a box of mooncakes to treat yourself or to bring to your friends and Vietnamese hosts.
Lion dancing
Lion dancing or múa lân is a staple of the Mid autumn celebration. Young children assemble in clusters carrying red lanterns. Everyone joins in the joyful Mid Autumn Festival songs they learned early in life.
The youngsters shrink back as a fabled lion crashes into their courtyard, its enormous head and sinuous body borne by a team of acrobatic dancers running forward.
Lion dance at Mid Autumn Festival in Vietnam
With its protruding eyes and wide lips, the lion is both amusing and strong while the kids laugh at the dancers' antics approaching the audience.
Where is Mid Autumn Festival celebrated in Vietnam?
The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Tết Trung Thu, is celebrated all over Vietnam, but some places stand out:
Hanoi (Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake)
Here on the streets are vibrant lanterns, energetic lion dances, stores offering mooncakes and gifts such Hang Ma Street, Phung Hung Street, Dong Xuan Market,.... If you wish to feel the festive attitude in the capital, you really must see this.
Read more: Perfume Pagoda Festival
Hoian (Ancient Town)
Hoian is well-known for its lanterns, hence this celebration grows even more spectacular. The top options for both residents and visitors will be lantern parades, folk games, and cultural events.
Ho Chi Minh City (Chinatown in District 5)
For the celebration in the south, Ho Chi Minh City is among the busiest places with lion dances, traditional music, and many street food vendors offering mooncakes abound.
Lanterns street
Tuyen Quang
Attracting many tourists annually, this northern city organizes a massive lantern procession among the largest in Vietnam.
Hue
You can see lanterns floating on the Perfume River, traditional dance shows, and a quiet but lovely celebration.
In Vietnam, the Mid Autumn Festival is a pleasant, joyful event rooted in custom. Wherever you find yourself, don't miss the opportunity to try local mooncakes, participate in the celebrations, and really embrace Tet Trung Thu.
If you’re planning to join the festivities and need to rent a car in Vietnam, let contact Vietnam Budget Car Rental. We offer a range of vehicles to make your journey comfortable and convenient by renting a car with driver and self drive services.
Read more: Travel To Vietnam During Tet Holiday
