Papermasks is a popular traditional toys among Vietnamese children during the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Amid the abundance of colourful modern toys displayed in Hanoi’s OldQuarter during the Mid-Autumn Festival, traditional offerings till havetheir place in the hearts of Vietnamese children.
Some ofthe most popular traditional toys are paper masks, which have also found favouramong international and domestic tourists.
Artisancouple Nguyen Van Hoa and Dang Huong Lan has made paper masks for more than 40years. Their stall is modestly situated among other stalls selling moderntoys on Hang Luoc street. While Lan is engrossed in arranging the masks andwelcoming buyers, her husband is busy decorating their stall.
A monthbefore Mid-Autumn festival, they wake up early every day to draw the masks,prepare for delivery and then bring their products to Hang Luoc street tosell, Lan said
When thefestival is approaching, Hoa is often invited to attend many to introducethe craft of making paper masks to children.
Accordingto the artisan, they can make 30 different faces for the masks. Besidestraditional faces like Ong Dia (a happy Buddha who is a lionmaster), buffaloes, horses or tigers, they have also modernised their productsby creating masks of contemporary figures like Spiderman and Superman,which sell like hotcakes during Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Theaffection for the traditional paper masks of many people makes us feel ourwork is beneficial to society and get more motivated to pursue the craft untilnow,” Lan said.
Walkingpast Hang Luoc street, one might also spot a stall selling stuffed swan toys.
Made fromcotton, it used to be every Vietnamese girl’s dream toy for Mid-AutumnFestival.
There isonly one family in Hanoi still making stuffed swan toys for sale, VuThi Thanh Tam's family on Hang Luoc street.
The toyincludes a basket with two small spotless white stuffed swan with cute redbeaks, nestling peacefully among the colourful flowers.
Tamsaid she did not know when the craft was born, but remembers that manystuffed animal toys like chickens, birds or swans that used to be soldabundantly on Hang Gai street were hugely popular in the past. Shelearned the craft to earn extra income for her family at the time.
“Thecotton swan toys used to sell well and the families making the toys could noteven meet demand. However, when more and more modern toys became available,children became less interested in traditional toys, including stuffed swantoys. Many families have quit the craft, so now there is only my familytaking it over,” the 90-year-old artisan said.
Herfamily used to make swan toys for extra income, and now even when their livingconditions have improved, Tam still makes the toys as she has for 70 years.
“Wheneverthe Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, my family hesitates whether tomake it or not, but we still make it,” she said.
Accordingto Quach Thi Bac, Tam’s daughter-in-law, the swan toys don't sell aswell as they used to in the past. Their customers are mainly organisationsor local authorities in wards and districts across Hanoi who buy them tocelebrate the festival for the children in the areas.
Occasionally,foreign visitors also come to their house to buy baskets of cotton swans assouvenirs to bring back home.
In thepast two years, they have been invited by the Old Quarter Management Board toattend the Mid-Autumn Festival to introduce this traditional craft toVietnamese kids and tourists.
“I don’tknow if the traditional craft will still survive after I pass away. It will bea pity if younger generations don't know about the existence oftraditional toys like stuffed swans,” Bac said./.
VNA