• 11 Aug 2022
• 2022

International integration and honoring the beauty of Vietnamese culture through the Moon Festival

Every full moon in August, Vietnamese people are ready to prepare tea and cakes for the rare time that families can gather together. Therefore, with the desire to spread the cultural beauty of the Mid-Autumn tradition from a multicultural perspective, the Department of Student Affairs organized an international exchange with the theme "All you need to know about Moon Festival” on the evening of August 5, 2022, at B1 Hall, UEH Nguyen Tri Phuong. 

Cultural connections at UEH English Zone is an activity that brings together cultural diversity to help UEH and international students develop a shared understanding of each other's values, beliefs, needs, and priorities. This place connects the student community from many countries, regions, and cultures and introduces the UEH brand to the international community. With the theme: "All you need to know about Moon Festival", the program has received a lot of attention and an enthusiastic response from more than 60 UEH students, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Singapore Management University and Western Washington University (USA).

Students participated in the event and were excited to learn about the Moon Festival

At the event, Mr. Nguyen Van Duong - Head of the Department of Student Affairs, believes that the event will be an opportunity to connect cultures and introduce the traditional beauty of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam perspective. In addition, the event welcomes Ms. Ashley Rae Hollenbeck - Director of Education Abroad and Executive Director of InPlace (formerly Institute for Village Studies), Institute for Global Engagement, Western Washington University, and other UEH lecturers.

Lecturers attending the program affirm the importance of participating in cultural exchange activities.

“All you need to know about Moon Festival” is a cultural event that spotlights the beauty of traditional festivals in cultural aspects. Attending the event, attendees learned about some most characteristic symbols in Viet Nam in Vietnam during the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as Ong Dia, Star Lantern, Paper Mask,... and understood their cultural meanings. From there, the program brings an open discussion to a multinational perspective about the spiritual values that the holiday brings and the indigenous culture of each country.

International students are interested in Vietnamese toys 

Continuing the spiritual values, attendees can experience the Vietnamese culinary culture during the Mid-Autumn Festival season, such as green tea, mooncake, Dày cake, and Pía cake,... According to Wong Shi En, "The mooncake in Vietnam looks quite similar to the mooncake in Singapore, but the inside is much more diverse with a variety of sweet and savory fillings. In particular, I like the taste of Pía cake and will try many other types of multi-stuffed cakes.”

Regardless of the type of cake, the crust is wrapped around the filling, expressing the Vietnamese people's concept of compatibility, mutuality, affection, and mutual protection.

The beauties of Vietnamese culinary culture were also discussed enthusiastically by attendees.

In the DIY activity, divided into three main areas: To He, Lantern, and Paper Mask, attendees will be able to experience and create the Vietnamese iconic toy of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Through each brush, color, and detail of the handmade toy, there are many folk stories and the forefathers' enthusiasm to tell.

The feeling of hand-sculpting To he, painting lanterns, and decorating masks helped attendees understand traditional values intuitively.

The cultural exchange program with the theme "All you need to know about Moon Festival" ended in a joyful atmosphere with a lantern parade. With the guidance of Uncle Cuoi, attendees held the colorful lanterns in their hands, sang songs of the Mid-Autumn Festival and experienced activities under the bustling music: "The Lantern Star, your lines look so bright. I raise you high up to the sky. I carry you and sing out loud, To welcome the lantern festival…”

The Mid-Autumn Festival lantern parade is always an interesting activity in Vietnamese culture.

The event brought participants a multicultural playground at UEH English Zone through cultural music, performances, games, and typical dishes of the Mid-Autumn Festival. At the same time, the program helps to connect the UEH student community and international students more and more closely, contributing to the university's global integration mission.

News, photos: Department of Student Affairs UEH