Since Tet Trung Thu (the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival) is a celebration that honors children, I thought it would be a good idea to share some traditional folktales about the holiday. To celebrate this Tuesday, break out some mooncakes, spend time together as a family and share some of these stories with your children.

Cá hóa Rông – the story of a carp who worked hard to reach his goal of becoming a dragon. After much hard work, he was successful. The moral of the story is that with hard work, one can become anything they wish. This can be easily applied to working hard in school.

The Lady in the Moon – this particular story is set in China, but still tells a lot about the holiday. The story focuses on General Hou Yih who is given an immortality pill by Her Imperial Majesty. General Hou’s wife, Lady O-Chang, unknowing of its power, took the pill and began to rise above the Earth. She became the Goddess of the Moon and appears during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival where offerings are made to her.

Chu Cuoi va Chi Hang – about Chu Choi who was holding onto a trees’ roots when it was uprooted, thus flying him to the moon. During the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival he can be seen next to his tree in the moon.(scroll down on website)

If you have a book of folktales, some others to look for at this time of year are: the story of the first dragon and the moon lady or Trang Yi.

Here are some books to share with your child for Tet Trung Thu:

Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes

Surprise Moon

Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam (this book includes a story about the man in the moon, which would tie in perfectly with Tet Trung Thu)

Children Just Like Me: Celebrations!(there are pictures of Tet Trung Thu in this book)

I also came across this story of a Vietnamese Cinderella titled “The Story of T’am and C’am here. It is set during the Autumn Festival.

If you have any others to add, please let me know :)

More Reading:
Tet Trung Thu is Next Week
Mooncakes for Tet Trung Thu
Tet Trung Thu Festivities Across the US

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