The Reunion Member | SAIGON GIAI PHONG NEWSPAPER

SGGP September 24, 2023 08:55

At this time, people are very interested in this year’s moon cake market, to see what options there are, what new flavors there are. A reunion moon season, but when mentioned a lot, it is probably just about what to eat, where to go… Sometimes the cake is full and flavorful, but the value of reunion gradually fades away.

Mid-Autumn Festival with the value of reunion and togetherness. Photo: KHOI LAM CHIEU

More than just a cake

In the 4.0 technology era, social networks also "test" the taste of moon cakes for people before deciding to buy. About a month before the Mid-Autumn Festival is the golden time for TikTokers, Facebookers, YouTubers... to continuously post articles, pictures, and videos introducing moon cake shops. From familiar traditional flavors to high-end boxes of cakes costing tens of millions of dong, there are all kinds. The number of views for each introductory video like this also increases in the season, several million views for videos introducing high-end cakes or unique flavors is normal.

People often talk about the sophistication and elaborateness of the specially designed cake boxes or the sweet and bland taste of the cakes with imported ingredients. But in almost millions of videos introducing moon cakes on those online platforms, few people have enough knowledge to talk about a reunion moon season.

After many years of studying and working in the city, the number of times returning to the hometown has gradually decreased as the whirlwind of work and life always makes people busy. Nguyen Thi Huyen Chi (34 years old, auditor, living in Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City) confided: “When I was young, just one cake was enough for a Mid-Autumn Festival for the whole family. Now, I can send my parents a few boxes of cakes if they like, but I don't do that. I still want to bring the box of cakes home myself, to enjoy with my parents. If you have money, you can buy cakes anywhere, but the cakes of the reunion season are also about returning home, not just a cake or a box of cakes.”

And the most meaningful thing about the Mid-Autumn Festival is probably the little ones in the house. A cake or a red and green lantern is of course enough to make the children happy, but to make them grow up fully, we need more. “Every Mid-Autumn Festival, my wife and I sit and listen to what cakes and lanterns the children like, and the whole family goes shopping together. After that, my husband and I also teach our children the meaning of the reunion season, and together we bring cakes home to give to grandparents on both sides, that is what we need to do. Buying cakes and eating them for fun is just a seasonal thing,” said Mr. Phan Hoang Tuan (45 years old, office worker, living in District 4, HCMC).

Many heavy things to carry

Many years ago, my sister used to bring home a box of moon cakes that the company gave to its employees every August of the lunar calendar. Later, when I started working, I liked the culture of giving moon cakes to employees in the company more than transferring a sum of money into an account. Perhaps, giving each other a cake is not just a seasonal enjoyment, but it also contains concern, reminding each other of the value of family love and the value of reunion.

But in today’s fast-paced world, my thoughts will probably become a topic of discussion when posted on social media groups. Because when giving mooncakes or other gifts during the Tet holiday, the cake has to carry a lot of pressure to please the other person.

Several times I passed by the lantern street in District 5, there were still industrial-style red and green lanterns hanging all over the street. Customers bought one but took pictures from the beginning to the end of the street, there were even many people arguing over a good angle to take pictures, and there were not many children going out to play in the Mid-Autumn Festival, it was mainly young people following the trend of "checking in" at the lantern street.

It is not by chance that every Tet or other holidays of the year, people still hear sighs from social networks and even from people around them, that "now, things are blander than before". If we look at it from a material perspective, how can things be "blander" than before, when there are thousands of choices of cakes and fruits now, even imported cakes can be bought easily. But the difference is that when the market only has 2 choices of mixed fillings or green beans, people welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival with a very different joy, even though the taste of the cake is not sweet enough, but the value of reunion and friendship is enough to be filled with a piece.

When it comes to nostalgia, people are divided into two opinions, those who support it attach a whole range of memories, but there are also those who pout, as if it were "having enough food and clothes but still wanting this and that". From a personal perspective, everyone has their own point of view and it is correct to a certain extent. Change and development of society is also a normal law, but there are values that remain intact even after many years, such as the value of reunion, the taste of family love, which a cake or a lantern cannot fully represent. Family culture is certainly such a value, not just a matter of eating a piece according to the season, checking in a photo according to the trend.

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