Ha Tinh (VNS/VNA) -An old man parks his motorbike in front of Ly Tu Trong Park in the centralcity of Ha Tinh with some big, colourful star-shaped lanterns on it.

Passersby, especially children,slow down to have a few more seconds to look the lanterns. Some even turn theirheads to look back.

Local people feel theMid-Autumn Festival buzz whenever they see the lantern seller on thestreet. 

It has been 30 yearssince Truong Viet Dung, a 70-year-old veteran, startedmaking lanterns for sale in the city of the eponymous province.

“I can not forget full moonfestivals during my childhood when I together with other members of the localHo Chi Minh Young Pioneers Organisation made star lanterns to celebrateMid-Autumn Festival,” Dung said.

With colourful see-throughplastic, bamboo sticks and candles insides, such star lanterns lit up Dung’schildhood.

For children of those times,the simple toy was enough to make their Mid-Autumn Festival special and thehappiness of holding a bright lantern, showing off to others, stayed withthem long into later life.

Seeing children of todayflooded with various kinds of toys or isolated with TVs or smartphones,since 1990, Dung started making lanterns to sell during Mid-Autumn Festival.

From the seventh month of thelunar year, his house in a small hamlet on Ly Tu Trong Street turns into amessy workshop full of coloured papers and bamboo and other tools to makelanterns.

“I just want to keep a typicaltraditional feature of Mid-Autumn Festival,” Dung said.

To make a star-shaped lantern,he has to stand for about three hours. He can make up to three lanterns a dayand usually sells them for 300,000 - 500,000 VND.

Dung likes to decorate hislanterns with a picture of Uncle Ho on the heart of the star and on itsbackside, he sticks a poem about Uncle Ho’s love for children.

Besides star-shaped lanterns, Dungalso makes carp-shaped versions with the carps’ eyes movable, making themlook very vivid.

Children are most fascinatedby the moving eyes of the carps, Dung said.

In the last few years, peoplearound the city and in other provinces have heard about Dung’s lanterns. Theyorder the lanterns for celebrations at their homes, offices orneighbourhoods.

On average, during Mid-AutumnFestival, Dung can sell 40-60 lanterns.

“I’m happy not because I canmake an income from selling the lanterns but because the traditionallanterns are still present in today’s Mid-Autumn Festival and that people,especially children, know about it,” he said.

Phan Thi Ha, a preschool teacherin Ha Tinh city said that she usually bought Dung’s lanterns to prepare forMid-Autumn Festival.

“Traditional colourful lanternsare indispensable in our Mid-Autumn celebration for small children,” Ha said.

Ha said that she visited Dung’shouse, seeing him carefully and wholeheartedly make every single part of thelanterns and then, happily assemble and complete them.

“Dung is willing to show peoplehow to make a lartern so that teachers like me can show our students later,” Hasaid.

“It is not only about making atraditional toy but also preserving traditional values for next generations,”the teacher said./.