How To Make A Den Trung Thu
Posted: Friday, August 11, 2006
by Joe Knight
A Den Trung Thu is a Vietnamese lantern built to celebrate a good harvest in the autumn. This celebration is a "kid’s celebration" to compensate the children for the playtime that they have missed during the harvest.
The holiday is called "Tet Trung Thu", which in English means the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is usually celebrated around August 15th during the full moon. During this holiday celebration all the kids wear bright-colored clothes and everyone participates in activities outside the home.
One of the symbols of the celebration is a Den Trung Thu, a can which holds a candle. The can is attached to a bamboo stick, and as it is pushed along the ground, the can spins, causing the candle to flicker. Imagine hundreds of kids parading around, each pushing a Den Trung Thu.
The item is easy to make. The materials needed are as follows:
Empty thread spool
Empty aluminum can with both ends removed, with holes punched in the center of the can to allow a wire to pass through
Clothes-hanger wire
Stick about three feet long
short candle
three or four small rubber bands
one wide rubber band
Step 1: Straighten wire and bend last 8 - 10 inches into an "L" shape
Step 2: Slide spool onto short end
Step 3: Bend end of wire 90-degrees and slide on can. Bend-over wire so can won’t fall off
Step 4: Attach stick to long end of wire with small rubber bands
Step 5: Apply wide rubber band to can, and position it so rides over edge of spool. As the device is pushed along the ground, the spool rolls along the ground, causing the can to rotate. Make several trial runs to make sure everything works correctly
Step 6: Light candle and allow wax to drip in base inside can. Place base of candle in melted wax and hold until candle is stable
Step 7: Light candle after darkness falls. As the Den Trung Thu is pushed along, the candle will appear to flicker on-and-off as the can rotates.
end
Joe Knight is a writer in Fresno, California
no pictures, hard to follow
