Vietnamese children present an art performance at the festival. VNA Photo

 SINGAPORE – The liaison board of the Vietnamese community in Singapore has organised a Mid-Autumn Festival, which is celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, at the Vietnamese embassy in the island-city state.

The event, which gathered a large number of Vietnamese people in Singapore as well as international friends on Sunday, featured various activities imbued with Vietnamese culture such as mask and conical hat painting, making bánh dẻo (sticky rice moon cake), decorating lanterns and making figurines.

Participants also enjoyed Vietnamese folk games including tug of war, sack jumping race and bamboo pole dance as well as special art performance and Vietnamese specialties.

In his remarks at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phước Dũng hailed the efforts of the liaison board, the Vietnamese Student Association as well as the volunteers in preparing for the festival. He emphasised the need to nurture the love for the homeland among children in the Vietnamese community through preserving the traditions, customs and practices of Vietnam as well as spreading the Vietnamese language in the host country.

Tạ Thúy Liên, head of the board said that the event not only offers an opportunity for children to have a better understanding of the festival – a long-standing and sound cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people – but also highlights the connection with the homeland.

One of the meaningful activities of this year's edition is that the organising board took the occasion to call on the Vietnamese community in Singapore to join hands to support people affected by super Typhoon Yagi, reflecting the spirit of mutual love in the community, she continued. VNA/VNS