It was the only day he ever got new clothes. It was the only day that his parents splurged on the holiday's traditional treats, moon cakes and hand-held lanterns, because there was never money for toys or sweets. It was a day when all children were treated special, regardless of their family's income, said Nguyen and his wife, Cay Vu.

"You really get excited for the lanterns," said Nguyen, who moved from his homeland to Utah 17 years ago.

In hopes of teaching their grandkids about the Vietnamese tradition, Nguyen and Vu are planning to take them to the Moon Festival this weekend at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City.

"There's are not a lot of Vietnamese holidays, so I want them to keep it going," Vu said through a translator.

Sue Tran, a 19-year-old University of Utah sophomore, said she had never celebrated the holiday until she attended the Sugar House Park event last year. Tran, who moved to Utah from Vietnam at age three, said she's learning more about the Moon Festival as she helps organize this weekend's event, which will include traditional Vietnamese music and dance performances.

Sometimes, Tran said, Asians - who make up some 2 percent of the state's population - are overlooked and "need to be strong as an ethnic group." She hopes non-Asians attend the festival so they learn more about the Vietnamese culture.

"It's a good way for people to know there's a Vietnamese community in Utah," she said.

The Moon Festival is celebrated in many Far East Asian countries as a harvest celebration. It is commemorated on the 15th day of the lunar calendar, when the moon - which represents prosperity of life - appears larger than any other time of the year, according to the Web site, http://www.vietmedia.com. This year's holiday, also known as the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, is Oct. 6.

Nguyen and Vu, who have nine grown children and 13 grandchildren, said the Moon Festival is one of the biggest Vietnamese holidays. They said it was special because no matter what, most families celebrated it, unlike other holidays. For the New Year, some families didn't have money to give, and many didn't celebrate Christian-based holidays, such as Christmas.

In Vietnam, people still go to work and children go to school on the holiday, but when the sun goes down the celebration begins. The couple remembers most kids in the village singing and walking around the streets with candlelit lanterns in the shapes of shrimp, butterflies, dragons and birds. Then, families would head home to enjoy a piece of moon cake, or banh trung thu. The small, sweet cake fits in a hand and doesn't have frosting. It is covered with a thin crust marked with an emblem; the inside texture is like a thick fruit cake.

To celebrate at their home in Taylorsville, Nguyen and Vu will probably buy moon cakes at a local Asian grocery store for the family. But, no one should plan on getting a new outfit.

"They get new clothes all the time, so it's not special," Vu jokes. "They don't need anymore clothes."

jsanchez@sltrib.com

Vietnamese Moon Festival

When: Saturday, 3 to 9 p.m.

Where: Sugar House Park, 2100 S. 1300 East

Cost: Free

What to expect: Games for the kids. Performances start at 4 p.m. Moon cake will be passed out at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Lanterns and candles will be passed out and there will be a walk around the pond at 8 p.m.

Sponsored by: University of Utah Vietnamese American Student Association and Asian American Student Association and Salt Lake Community College Asian Student Association.

For information: Call Trang at 635-9541.