A long time ago, we attended a Vietnamese food festival in the city. The food was part of a larger buffet, and we wore the non la (conical leaf hat) but honestly, it wasn’t the best place to comprehend the simple yet complex flavours of Vietnamese cuisine. We had our Vietnamese rolls, tasted the pho, and left. So, this time when we heard that Nho Saigon was hosting a Lantern Festival in the city, we decided to delve a little deeper into understanding the nuances of the food and culture.

Vietnam’s strong Buddhist heritage gives significance to the full moon, and a specific lantern tradition originated during the 16th and 17th centuries in the port city of Hoi An. Crowded with traders from all over the world, this trend started with the Japanese traders who brought with them various kinds of lanterns to hang in front of their homes. In a similar effort to bring luck to their homes, the locals started to imitate this. Since then, Hoi An has maintained its rich cultural diversity and is now well known for its lanterns. The monthly full moon celebrations and lantern festivals are believed to have been combined in 1998 by the local government, and since then, both Vietnamese citizens and foreign tourists have  flocked to Hoi An, an ancient city cut through by canals, to take part in the festivities.