Mid-Autumn Festival is a good opportunity to educate children about life and culture. (Source: Toquoc.vn)

That is the opinion of MSc. Dinh Van Mai, Soft Skills Lecturer, Student Capacity Development Center, Van Lang University with The World and Vietnam Newspaper on the occasion of the approaching Mid-Autumn Festival, in the context that many northern provinces are suffering heavy damage caused by storm number three.

From your perspective, what role does the Mid-Autumn Festival play in preserving and promoting national cultural identity?

Mid-Autumn Festival is always a special occasion for families to gather; children and adults participate in making lanterns, carrying lanterns, dancing lions and setting up moon-viewing feasts to strengthen family ties and love. International tourists coming to Vietnam can join in the activities, record meaningful moments of the Mid-Autumn Festival and share them on social networks. That helps promote Vietnamese culture to international friends.

People's lives are becoming more modern and digital, but the Mid-Autumn Festival remains unchanged. Traditional activities are still passed down from generation to generation, preserving the national cultural identity.

In today's era when technology increasingly "invades" daily life, how can we preserve and promote the good values ​​of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Preserving and promoting the good values ​​of the Mid-Autumn Festival requires a skillful combination of tradition and modernity. On the one hand, traditional activities are still carried out in many creative forms, on the other hand, technology is used to spread values ​​to more people, especially the younger generation - those who tend to be attached to technology.

Each family should create opportunities for members to participate in lantern making activities, visit lantern streets, and experience making moon cakes. Schools can organize creative lantern making competitions, recycled lanterns, or learn about the meaning, history, and customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Young people can create short and meaningful videos related to the Mid-Autumn Festival to spread on social networks.

Videos on how to make lanterns or moon cakes should also be shared. Frequent destinations for young people such as Lantern Street or shops can decorate with Mid-Autumn themed images. Organizations, groups or volunteer groups can launch fundraising programs, bringing the Mid-Autumn Festival to children and people in more difficult circumstances so that everyone can enjoy a warm and loving Mid-Autumn Festival. In many different ways with the participation of all sectors of society, we can preserve and promote the good values ​​of the Mid-Autumn Festival, while making this value more suitable for modern life.

MSc. Dinh Van Mai. (Photo: NVCC)

What is the significance of educating children about the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Education about life and culture through the Mid-Autumn Festival has a profound meaning in the comprehensive development of children. Through traditional activities with the participation of parents, children learn the love that grandparents and parents have for them through specific actions, creating a solid foundation for the development of children's emotions and psychology.

In addition, children can develop communication skills, cooperate with friends or family members through creativity in making lanterns, decorating trays of offerings; learn how to share love, give cakes to people in difficult circumstances, send gifts and clothes to children in flood areas. This helps children develop compassion, community spirit and understanding of others. By participating and learning about the history and meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival customs, children will understand, appreciate and promote the cultural values ​​that their ancestors left in accordance with the present era.

The core purpose of these activities is to help children develop comprehensively in terms of intelligence, emotions, compassion and social skills. Through participating in activities, children reveal their own personality traits, helping families guide children to practice standard behaviors, respect and connect with people around them, ensuring the right to study, participate in learning and discovering good values. From there, children will live more consciously and responsibly.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is very different from previous years because at the moment, many provinces and cities in the North have suffered heavy damage caused by Typhoon Yagi such as flash floods, rising water levels, collapsed bridges, etc. Many children do not have a Mid-Autumn Festival. In my opinion, on this occasion, schools and families should aim to educate children about sharing with friends in flood-affected areas. This is one of the extremely important and meaningful activities of education.

What benefits can children receive from participating in educational activities during this occasion?

Mid-Autumn Festival is a good opportunity for families and schools to educate children in many different ways. Children have the opportunity to practice communication skills, patience and team spirit when participating in group activities such as making lanterns, lion dances, and preparing food trays. Children communicate with more people, creating a foundation for developing the ability to integrate and build relationships. Children learn how to create their own lantern products or Mid-Autumn Festival paintings and present them to everyone.

On the one hand, children increase their understanding of culture, history, and closeness to nature through stories. On the other hand, they learn the value of sharing, loving, and empathizing with disadvantaged children. Early exposure to traditional cultural values ​​helps children develop a love of learning and respect for national identity, forming a sense of cultural preservation, and arousing national pride.

Mid-Autumn Festival is also an opportunity to teach children compassion. (Photo: NVCC)

How to effectively combine fun activities with imparting knowledge to children?

When imparting knowledge to children through fun activities, parents and schools need to ensure safety, creativity appropriate to their age as well as a balance between education and entertainment. At the same time, listen to children's wishes to coordinate and organize a variety of activities such as designing games in the style of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with questions about the Mid-Autumn Festival; encourage children to tell folk tales, act out plays, and role-play; organize folk games connected to lantern making festivals, painting, baking, lion dancing, and decorating trays of offerings. In addition, children participate in volunteer activities, visit cultural sites, lantern streets, or take photos with their families.

Parents should arrange time to participate with their children, explain the meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival customs so that children can understand more deeply about the origin of national culture. At the same time, guide children on how to interact and behave appropriately, and listen to their feelings after participating.

School is where children learn and experience the Mid-Autumn Festival in a comprehensive educational environment. Close coordination between family and school creates an effective learning environment for children. The school organizes educational activities, while the family continues to maintain and strengthen cultural values ​​at home. Moreover, educating compassion through sharing with children in the flood-hit areas of the North, with children in remote areas is extremely important, and needs to be done regularly, not only during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Thank you!