Celebrating Tet Trung Thu: A Guide to Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival

Not to be confused with Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year), Tet Trung Thu is Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival. This festive, family-focused holiday originated in China over 3,000 years ago but has long been celebrated in many Asian countries, including Vietnam.

In Vietnam, the holiday takes the form of a festival for children. Head to a temple, pagoda, or park, and you’ll likely see kids dressed in áo dài (traditional garb), carrying star-shaped lanterns, singing festival songs, and dancing.

If your trip to Vietnam coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, this guide shows you where to experience the lantern displays, parades, folklore, customs, and gift-giving traditions that shape this local celebration.

• Local name: Tết Trung Thu
• Also known as: Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, and Children’s Festival (Tết Thiếu Nhi)
• When: 15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually September or early October
• Best places to celebrate: Hoi An, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Nha Trang
• What to expect: Mooncakes, lanterns, lion dances, and children’s parades
• Public holiday? No. Businesses, transport, and restaurants operate as normal.

Tết Trung Thu, often called Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, has its roots in harvest season traditions. On the full moon of the eighth lunar month, families would gather to share food, give thanks for a good harvest, and spend time together after long days of work.

In Vietnam, Tết Trung Thu is centred around children. At home, families prepare fruit trays and mooncakes, while children head outside with Đèn ông sao (star-shaped lanterns) for evening parades. You'll spot them carrying đèn ông sao (star-shaped lanterns), singing as they walk, and staying out well past bedtime under the full moon.

The festival comes with its own folklore. The most popular story is about Chú Cuội, a man who ended up on the moon along with a magical banyan tree and never found his way back.

People say if you look closely at the full moon, you can spot his silhouette sitting beneath the branches. Lanterns during the festival are sometimes said to help light his way home.

You'll also come across a similar tale about Hằng Nga, the Moon Lady, in children's performances, street decorations, and the stories families share with their kids after dark.

Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, during the full moon. Because it follows the lunar calendar, the date changes each year, but it typically falls in September or early October.

Tết Trung Thu dates for the next few years

• 2026: Friday, 25 September 2026
• 2027: Wednesday, 15 September 2027
• 2028: Tuesday, 3 October 2028
• 2029: Saturday, 22 September 2029

Tết Trung Thu is one of Vietnam’s most atmospheric festivals, especially in the weeks leading up to the full moon. You’ll see mooncake displays in bakery windows, children carrying lanterns through the streets, and lion dances drawing crowds with drums, cymbals, and colour.

You’ll see round mooncakes, or bánh trung thu, everywhere in the weeks before Tết Trung Thu. It's tradition to both eat mooncakes (usually with tea) and offer them as gifts to friends, family, and business associates during this time of year.

Traditional mooncakes usually have a soft pastry shell with a dense sweet or savoury filling. In Vietnam, traditional sweet filings are almost always lotus seed, red bean, mixed nuts, and salted egg yolk, though bakeries now also sell flavours like tiramisu, matcha, durian, and cheese.

If you’re visiting someone during the festival, a box of traditional sweet mooncakes is usually a thoughtful gift.

Lanterns are one of the most recognisable parts of the festival. They symbolise light, good fortune, and prosperity, and they’re closely tied to the legend of Chú Cuội, the man said to live on the moon.

You’ll often see children carrying red star-shaped lanterns, though lanterns also come in animal shapes, fish shapes, and more elaborate handmade designs.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, you will likely see parades featuring little kids dressed up in their finest carrying lanterns around while dancing and singing. It's always an adorable sight. Kids are given plenty of toys and treats for the occasion, making this a favourite holiday amongst Vietnamese kids. 

You'll probably hear the lion dance performances before you see them. If you hear loud drums while wandering the streets of Vietnam during the Mid-Autumn Festival, walk toward them to witness one of the famous lion dances. A team of acrobatic dancers is usually accompanied by loud drumbeats to help ward off evil spirits and usher in good luck and good fortune. These dances are always fun for kids and adults alike.

The festival happens across Vietnam, but a handful of cities give visitors different versions of the celebration. Here’s what each one offers and where to stay.

Key spots:

• Ancient Town
• Hoài River
• Hoài River Square

What better place to experience Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival than in the "City of Lanterns"? Paper lanterns hang from shopfronts and bridges, and children parade along Hoi An’s riverbank carrying star-shaped lights after dark.

Expect large crowds on festival night, especially around the Ancient Town. If you don’t mind the throngs of visitors, it’s one of the most photogenic places to spend the evening.

Travel tip: If you’re visiting Hoi An during Tết Trung Thu, staying just outside the old town can be more comfortable on busy festival nights. Grand Mercure Danang is a convenient base for evening trips into the old town.

Key spots:

• Hang Ma Street
• Old Quarter
• Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian area
• 22 Hang Buom Cultural and Arts Centre

Hang Ma Street is where the build‑up starts weeks early. Stalls overflow with paper masks, lanterns, and children's toys. On festival night, the action spills into the wider Old Quarter and down to Hoan Kiem Lake, where families gather and kids run around with lanterns well into the evening.

Where to stay: Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi – MGallery Collection place you closest to Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the Old Quarter, with Hàng Mã Street and 22 Hàng Buồm Cultural and Arts Centre within easy reach.

Key spot:

• Luong Nhu Hoc Street (Lantern Street), District 5

Head to District 5 for a different side of the festival. Luong Nhu Hoc Street, known locally as Lantern Street, fills with shops selling paper lanterns, lion dance gear, and children's toys in the weeks before Tết Trung Thu. It's less crowded than Hoi An and great for photos.

Where to stay: A central hotel makes evening visits to District 5 easy. Pullman Saigon Centre and Novotel Saigon Centre both offer quick access by taxi or rideshare.

Key spots:

• Around Dam Market, main streets, and beachfront venues.

Nha Trang's festival scene is smaller but still lively, especially along the main streets and near the seafront after sunset. It's a good option if you're already planning a beach trip near Nha Trang and want to catch the celebrations without travelling far.

Where to stay: Novotel Nha Trang keeps you close to the promenade and central areas where festival activity picks up in the evening.

Most festival activity starts once the sun goes down. Lantern parades, lion dances, and street performances usually kick off from around 6 pm and run late into the night. Give yourself time to walk, stop, and watch. There's no set route, so wandering is part of it.

Mooncakes are the go‑to gift during the festival. You'll find them at bakeries, hotel lobbies, and street stalls in every city. A few other souvenirs worth picking up:

• Star‑shaped lanterns: sold on nearly every corner in the lead‑up to the festival, and make a good keepsake
• Handmade paper masks: easy to find in Hanoi's Old Quarter
• Boxed mooncake sets: a thoughtful gift if you're visiting someone's home

Festival nights get busy after 7 pm. The main hotspots are Hoi An's Ancient Town, Hang Ma Street in Hanoi, and Lantern Street in Ho Chi Minh City. If you prefer a quieter evening, try the side streets and riverbanks where smaller gatherings have the same lantern glow with less foot traffic.

Learn to say "Trung Thu Vui Ve” ("Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" in Vietnamese). Saying this to locals will go a long way, and you’ll get the warmest smiles, waves, and festive cheers in return, especially from kids and their parents.