Tò he (toy figurine) is a traditional toy for children in Vietnam which is made from glutinous rice powder in form of edible figurine such as animals, flowers or characters in folk stories.
Before the 1960s, toy figurine, which was made from glutinous rice powder, was sold on the streets in Hanoi and northern provinces of Vietnam during the mid-autumn festival. It is an indispensable ingredient for the Mid-Autumn Festival tray. This tradition also appeared in the South because the Northerners who migrated from 1954 popularized it. It remained here until about the late 1980s.
Although Western toys were very popular at that time but toy figurine, which is full of national spirit, has always been attractive to children and adults.
Perhaps part of the reason is that the Mid-Autumn Festival was still one of the most important festivals of Vietnamese traditional culture in the past. The Mid-Autumn Festival has been recognized as Children's Day or Vietnamese Children's New Year, so people eagerly await the Mid-Autumn Festival, just below the Lunar New Year.
The symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival such as sticky rice cakes, pies, lanterns, toy figurine can also compare to Chung cake, firecrackers, or the tree mentioned in the Lunar New Year. And for children, the sharing of toy figurine from the mid-autumn festival tray is as significant as the procession of lanterns parade, lion dance, or eating fruit cakes on holiday.
Finally, perhaps Vietnam is the only country with the custom of making toy figurine as children's toys for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
