The first village to specialise in making drums is thought to be Doi Tam Village in Ha Nam Province.

In 966, the King Le Dai Hanh chose to come to Doi Tam Village to plough in an annual ceremony to encourage industriousness in his people.

When the villagers learnt of the coming honorary visit, they dreamt of way to best welcome the king. Brothers Nguyen Duc Nang and Nguyen Duc Dat suggested welcoming the King ceremoniously, to the beat of a huge drum fashioned by local hands.

Upon the king’s arrival, the drum beat resounded through the land as a peal of thunder, earning admiration of neighbouring villages. The King was much delighted with the welcome and rewarded the village accordingly. He also requested the Doi Tam Village to keep making drum as its craft.

Since that time, the village acquired its traditional job. The two Nguyen brothers were honoured as the founders of the industry, and were conferred the title Trang Sam (Thunder Scholars).

Fashioning the drums involves three key steps: preparing leather for the drum surface, make the drum-barrel, and making the side cover.

The female buffalo is said to have the finest leather for making drums. It is smoothed and soaked with an anti-decay deodoriser.

Once dried, the outside layer is used to make larger drums, and the inside layer is used to make miniature drums for children.

The craftsmen then carefully choose the wood to make the drum-barrel, the best of which is found in the grapefruit tree, soft, durable, and unlikely to warp or crack.

The wood is sliced into sections, of size and degrees of curvature determined by the side of the drum. The parts of the drum are joined by varnish and layers of cotton netting.

Finally, the buffalo skin is stretched as tightly as possible over the surface of the drum and secured with nails made of bamboo.

Doi Tam Village makes many types of drums, including drums used in festivals, in cheo (Vietnamese operetta), and in schools. Thousands of drums are made for each Mid-Autumn Festival.

Legend of Lanterns light – one of Vietnamese toys on Mid-autumn festival

Lanterns, another charm of the full-moon festival, are made from bamboo and paper. Bamboo forms the frame, which is then covered with colourful paper.

The lanterns reproduce images of rabbits, stars, fish or frogs. Each of these figures has its own legend, adding mysticism to the inherent beauty of the lanterns.

Frog-shaped lanterns recall the folk saying "The frog is God's uncle. Beat him, and God beats back". The toy is representative of people's dream of plentiful rice harvest.

A lantern in the shape of a carp fish brings the legend of the carp, which passed the rain gate in a competition and transformed into a dragon. People recognised the shape as the hope that their children will surmount all challenges, and be successful.