Dad and that Mid-Autumn Festival...

During those years of hardship, my memories of Mid-Autumn Festivals were never as full or joyful as those of other children from better-off families. Yet one Mid-Autumn Festival remains unforgettable when my father personally brought home two fragrant mooncakes. For the first time in my life, I tasted not only the sweetness of the cakes but also the warm, tender flavor of a father's love.

Children born in fishing villages grow up with a life of hard work, their days shaped by the relentless rhythm of making a living at sea. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, my father would take empty milk cans, punch holes in them, tie them with wire, and create the familiar tin-can lanterns. A candle was placed inside, lit, and its dim light shone through the holes punched in the tin can. Though that light was not as brilliant as today’s electronic lanterns, it possessed a strange charm for children back then. We would gather under the full, bright moon, enjoying the atmosphere of a Mid-Autumn Festival night.

I remember a few days earlier, my father came home from work carrying a small wrapped bundle, which he placed behind the family altar. He told us that no one was allowed to open it without his permission. We followed his instructions completely and didn’t dare go near it out of curiosity.

Waiting for the full moon night of the eighth lunar month, the scent of incense wafted through the cramped space. Amid the familiar aroma, I suddenly detected a strange fragrance I had never encountered before. Looking up at the family altar, I joyfully exclaimed upon seeing two small, neatly arranged mooncakes placed there.

My brothers and I kept our eyes fixed on the two mooncakes, filled with excitement and longing. From time to time, we glanced at the incense burner to see if the incense had burned out, eagerly waiting for our father's signal to take the cakes down, all the while feeling a strange, restless anticipation stirring inside us.

Holding the small piece of mooncake in our hands, my brother and I didn’t eat right away. We inhaled its fragrance, as if trying to savor it for as long as possible. The first bite of the cake filled me with joy due to its irresistible deliciousness. For me, the chewy texture of the crust seemed to melt in my mouth, enhanced by its gentle sweetness. My brother, meanwhile, continued to praise every ingredient of the baked filling, including the nutty lotus seeds, fragrant lime leaves, lightly sweet candied pumpkin, savory Chinese sausage, and crisp melon seeds…

The sounds of joy and praise, the sip of fresh tea from my father, my mother reminding us not to indulge in too many sweets as night fell, then my brother and I asking to save some for the next day… all of these have, in the blink of an eye, transformed into beautiful echoes of the past and cherished memories. Consequently, each Mid-Autumn Festival, the entire family has the opportunity to gather together once more. My brother and I would buy the types of mooncakes that everyone loved.

Amid the laughter and cheerful chatter of today, I occasionally reminisce about that long-ago Mid-Autumn Festival, with the tin-can lanterns illuminating the entire neighborhood and the flavors of love and care that my father meticulously packed into the mooncakes of that year…

By: Duc Bao

Translated by: Huyen Trang - Minho