12th lunar month festival
1/ Ca Ong Festival
Time: 15th day of the 12th lunar month
Place: Some fishing villages in Khanh Hoa Province
Objects of worship: Ca Ong.
These festivites are tied to a legend in which Emperor Gia Long was saved by a whale while he was at sea. Every year, there is a celebration in Khanh Hoa in honour of the Whale. The rituals are held in communal houses and during the cermony there is Ba Trao singing a Chau performances.
2/ Dinh Mai Festival
Time: 20th day of the 12th lunar month.
Place: Thanh Mai Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi.
Objects of worship: Ha Khoi Royal Highest, who had merit of assistant Dinh Bo Linh quelling vassal of Do Canh Thac - who ruled Thanh Oai Region
Trung Do Festival
Trung Do Festival
Time: 18th day of the 11th lunar month
Place: Ngoc Phan Commune, Thanh Oai District, Ha Tay Province
Objectif of worship: This festival honors the Viet petriot Ly Bon who led a successful revolt against the Chinese in AD 542, later proclaiming himself as the Emperor Ly Nam De. Traditional ball games known as Phet are played during the boisterous celebrations.
An Lu Temple Festival
An Lu Temple Festival
Time: 10th day of the 11th lunar month
Place: An Lu Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City
Objectif of worship: the well-known doctor Tue Tinh
An Lu Temple that worships the well-known doctor Tue Tinh is located in An Lu Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Hai Phong City on the alluvial range of Cam River system where soil reclamations and village construction was early implemented by cultivators and fishermen.
Historical records from locality show that, under the reign of King Tran Due Tong (1370-1377), the ancestor of Pham family, who was a merchant named Viet Trinh, led 5 people from 4 families (Bui, Nguyen, Vu, Hoang) to the eastern land of Thuy Duong District (the ancient name of Thuy Nguyen District). Realizing that this area was huge but thinly populated, they discussed and then agreed to settle here. Since then, there were many people from Cam Giang coming to this land to reclaim, set up village and multiply population. Family records of these families handed down by generations have honored ancestor Pham Viet Trinh with his credit for the discovery, reclamation and foundation of An Lu village. After 7 years of settling in the alluvial land of Cam River, many people in the village caught a strange disease. They were puzzled and planned to go back their native land to earn living. When calm-hearted, they happened to remember a herbal remedy prescribed by the great doctor Tue Tinh for a familiar disease. They together collected herbs, then dried, buried, and simmered before using as recommendations in the remedy. Expectedly, they all recovered from the disease; that made them feel secure to continue staying in the village. After that event, local people set up a small temple to worship the great doctor, renamed the village into An Lu that meant ‘a peaceful village’, restored Xua market, built an iron-wooden 7-span bridge through Cam River in order to remind inhabitants of their native land. Previously, in An Lu village, there were many other relics such as: Tiger shrine, But wharf, Chung communal house where local people had many times popularized disease-treating methods from herbal plants and imparted good remedies of the great doctor Tue Tinh. Time went by; wars and severe calamities completely destroyed original relics of the temple. Early 1948, An Lu village people processed the statue of great doctor Tue Tinh to An Bach Temple, where the national hero Tran Quoc Tuan and his sons had been worshiped, in order to commemorate in coordination. The statue of great doctor Tue Tinh that represented Vietnamese traditional art was sculpted by skillful craftsmen. The image of Tue Tinh in civil mandarin costume at late nineteenth century was sculpted at a nearly same side of the real person.
Annually, An Lu village festival is opened from the eleventh day of eleventh lunar month. It would last 3 or 5 days depending on factual conditions of visitors’ participation. Especially, aside from memorial ceremony of the great doctor held at the temple, other culturally traditional activities that contain local characters took place in An Lu village e.g. Xua market-day on the first day of lunar year festival. In the market-day, all local products and those from other villages were sold here. Also, on the occasion of lunar year festival, local people come here to meet, and express best wishes to each other for a new year of good luck, smooth and success. An Lu Temple was reckoned as a historical and cultural relic in 1990
Nguyen Trung Truc Temple Festival
Nguyen Trung Truc Temple Festival
Time: 18th of the 10th lunar month
Place: Long Kien Commune, Cho Moi District, An Giang Province
Objectif of worship: Nguyen Trung Truc, the leader of an insurrection who rose up against the French in the South
n the festival, the locals organize incense-offering ceremony, recalling sacrifices-offering ceremony, reperformance of the battle of destroying a French warships on the Nhat Tao River in the 19th century. The festival involves boat rowing, Chinese chess and other fun games.
Since 2003, Nguyen Trung Truc Temple Festival has been considered as one of national cultual events with many typical entertainment activities. The festival attracts hundreds of visitors to participate. Beside traditional ceremory, a cultural program is held for the purpose of cultural exchange between ethnic groups of Kinh - Hoa - Khmer. Moreover, there remains a number of interesting folk games.
Visiting An Giang Province on the occasion of Nguyen Trung Truc Temple Festival, you will be able to explore and understand the cultural beauty in the region…
Ook om bok Festival
Ook om bok Festival.
Time: 15th of the 10th lunar month
Place: Soc Trang Province, Vietnam
Oc Om Boc Festival, Vietnam is a religious ceremony when the moon god of Kho Me minority group is worshipped in Soc Trang Province of South Vietnam. One of the most prominent of the festivals of Vietnam, it falls in October as per the Gregorian Calendar and on December 15th of the Buddhist calendar.
Oc Om Boc Festival, Vietnam is celebrated to thank the moon god for bringing good crops, abundant fish in the river and maintain the health of all the villagers. The moon deity is offered prayers to shower her blessings upon the villagers and lead them to prosperity.
As the full moon appears on the night of the Oc Om Boc Festival in Vietnam, people deposit trays of offerings in the pagoda yard or in their homes. The offering includes green rice flakes, ripe bananas, fresh peeled coconuts, mangoes and other items. At the end of the ceremony, the children of the house sit on the ground and clap their hands while they are fed a hand full of green rice flakes by the elders.
The most colorful event of the Oc Om Boc Festival is the flying of paper lanterns and placing banana tree ferries attached with lights in the river. This is believed to sweep away the darkness and humidity of the rainy season.
Like all other Vietnam festivals & events Oc Om Boc Festival, Vietnam is also a festival of fun. The traditional Ngo boat (wooden boat carved on both bow and stern) race is the highlight of the day next to the full moon night. This race is marked by the participation of many enthusiastic viewers who scream and encourage the participants to reach the finishing line first. The completion of the boat race signifies the completion of the villager’s responsibility to the moon god.
Beside, on this periode at this Soc Trang Province, there is also Ngo Boat Race. The Ngo Boat, called Tuk Ngo in the Khmer language, is a free trunk carved in the shape of a diamond with curved ends. The nvigation of such a boat requires pratice and skill because it can easily be capsized. This festival organized as a cultural sport, attracts hundreds of thousand of participants and spectators.
The Khmer celebrate another festival called “Eating Green Rice Flakes”, which takes place during the Khmer New Year. This celebration for the new rice, which is similar to the celebrations of many other ethinic groups, is organized to honour Buddha and to show gratitude to the Mekong River for bringing the water used for irrigating the crops
Nhi Khe Village Festival
Nhi Khe Village Festival
Time: 15th day of the 10th lunar month
Place: Nhi Khe Commune, Thuong Tin District, Ha Tay Province
Objects of worship: Mr. Doan Van Tai, the ancestor of wood carving in the 16th century.
Nhi Khe Village is well-known for its wood lathing craft that has been preserved for hundreds of years. It is also the birthplace of Nguyen Trai, a world’s culturist.
As the legend goes, in the 16th century, a man called Doan Tai arrived at the village and taught the villagers the wood lathing craft. He was considered the forefather of Nhi Khe lathing craft village and his death anniversary on lunar October 25th has become the village’s festival. The festival is also attended by many turners in neighbouring provinces.
Formerly, Nhi Khe Village’s products were made of wood and used for daily life only. Nowadays, with their creativity and professional secrets, Nhi Khe turners make exquisite products from such materials as horn, bone and ivory, meeting the demands of domestic and foreign customers.
Nhi Khe Village festival sees worshiping and offering ceremonies, chess playing and cheo (traditional operetta) performances.
Kate Festival
Kate Festival
Time: From the 1st day of the seventh month according to Cham calendar (equivalent to 25 September to 5
October by solar calendar).
Place: Po Nagar Tower Temple (Huu Duc Hamlet), Po Klong Garai Tower (Do Vinh Ward, Cham Tower), Po Rome Tower (Hau Sanh Hamlet).
Objects of worship: Gods: Po Klong Garai, Po Rome.
The Kate Festival is held annually by the Cham ethnic group who inhabit the An Phuoc District of Ninh Thuan Province. The Kate Festival is held on the first ten days of the seventh month of the Cham Calendar (this corresponds to September or October).
The Kate Festival is an occasion for the Cham people to express their venerability to their god. This god is considered the creator of the universe and is thought of as a national hero. During this festival, people go on a pilgrimage to the holy land of My Son and visit their friends and family.
On the last ten days of the sixth month of the Cham calendar, the Cham people bring precious gifts to their ancient Cham King. This ritual is held to thank their god beforehand and to ask for help in organizing the Kate Festival.
At night, everyone from the villages gets together to see the ritual performances of the traditional costumes (Poh Akharao). This traditional dance performance is accompanied by the solemn Kapo music rhythms.
In the early morning of the first day of the seventh month of the Cham calendar, the worshipping ceremonies are complete. Everyone then stages a procession for the deity of a nearby temple or tower , such as the Polnu Nagar, Poklong Garai, or An Phuoc. The procession is very crowded and the music of the Raglay people (the ancient Cham people) can be heard everywhere.
In the temples, the worshipping sorcerer commences the ritual of the door opening (Poh Bang), and the vice worshipping sorcerer executes a hymn piece.
The hymn is accompanied by the rhythms of the ancient Kanhi and tells of the power of the people. Other rituals include the washing and dressing of the Statue of the King with mineral water and the offering of wine in worship.
The rituals lasts throughout the day and into the night, concluding with a performance where people compose and recite poems while playing music. The festival is a very exciting time because people from everywhere can converse, share in the same feast, and walk the same path.
Co Le Pagoda Festival
Co Le Pagoda Festival
Time: From the 13th to the 16th day of the ninth lunar month.
Place: Co Le Townlet, Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Zen Buddhist Nguyen Minh Khong, the ancestor of bronze casting.
Buddha and patron saint worshipping, boat racing on Dao River, water puppetry shows, boi chess playing.
Co Le pagoda is in Co Le town-Truc Ninh district, a cultural-historical vestige, a famous scenic spot in Red river delta. It was built by Phan Quang Tuyen monk in November 1920. The monk freed three small pagodas from magic spells. It is said those pagodas were founded by Nguyen Minh Khong monk in the 12th century (Ly Dynasty). The pagoda is situated on a square land surrounded by small lakes and rivers.
Apart from Buddha altar, the pagoda worships Nguyen Minh Khong monk who saved Ly Than Tong treatment out of a dangerous disease. In the war against France, in 1947, Co Le pagoda was the place where 29 monks celebrated a ceremony before joining in the army. Pham The Long monk, who succeeded Pham Quang Tuyen superior monk as the head of Co Le pagoda engaged in the resistance war and later, he became a superior monk, holding high positions in Vietnam Buddhism Church.
Keo pagoda Festival
Keo pagoda Festival
Time: 13th day to 15th of 9th lunar month
Place: Vũ Nhất commune, Vũ Thư district, Thái Bình province.
Objectif of worship: Buddhist dignitary Duong Khong Lo, a man who is crdited with curing Le King from a serious illness.
The Keo Pagoda festival is annually held for three days, from 13th to 15th of the 9th lunar month to worship Buddhist Duong Khong Lo. He died on the 3rd of the sixth month, the festival of Keo Pagoda starts on the 13 of the 9th month, 100 days after his death. The 14th of the 9th lunar month is his birthday. The festival lasts one more day, through the 15th because it is the day in the middle of the lunar month, usually marked by Buddhists.
On the 13th, the festival begins with a procession to remind people of the anniversary of Buddhist Duong Khong Lo. Then a boat race and a competition of literary recitation are held in the afternoon. When the night falls, it is time for a trumpet and drum competition.
On the morning of the 14th, Khong Lo’s birthday is celebrated. It is followed by a procession including a red and white horse pulling a carriage. The carriage is accompanied by eight flag bearers and 42 men carrying bat but luu bo, a classical Vietnamese weapon. In the afternoon of the 14th, in Gia Roi temple, people hold a worshipping ceremony. On the 15th, all ceremonies continue in a more entertaining manner with more traditional games such as duck catching, rice cooking competition, firecrackers hurling contest.
Mid – Autumn Festival or Tet Trung Thu
Mid - Autumn Festival or Tet Trung Thu
Time: 15th day of 8th lunar month
In Vietnam, Têt-Trung-Thu (tet-troong-thoo) or the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most popular family holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.
Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this special day. In a Vietnamese folklore, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the children playing by themselves. To make up for lost time, parents would use the Mid-Autumn festival as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation for their children.
Appropriately, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Children’s Festival. In the United States, this tradition continues in many Vietnamese-American communities. Trung-Thu activities are often centered around children and education. Parents buy lanterns for their children so that they can participate in a candlelit lantern procession at dawn. Lanterns represent brightness while the procession symbolizes success in school. Vietnamese markets sell a variety of lanterns, but the most popular children’s lantern is the star lantern. Other children’s activities include arts and crafts in which children make face masks and lanterns. Children also perform traditional Vietnamese dances for adults and participate in contests for prizes and scholarships. Unicorn dancers are also very popular in Trung-Thu festivities.
Like the Chinese, Vietnamese parents tell their children fairy tales and serve mooncakes and other special treats under the silvery moon. A favorite folklore is about a carp that wanted to become a dragon. The carp worked and worked and eventually transformed itself into a dragon. This is the story behind the mythical symbol, Cá hóa Rông. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can become whatever they want to be.
There’s also a story about how the Moon Lady ascended to the moon. A man named Chu Coi found a lucky tree that had special healing powers. Because this tree was sacred, people were forbidden to urinate at the foot of this tree. Unfortunately, Chu Coi’s wife, Chi Hang forgot the rule and urinated on the tree. On day, while she was sitting on the tree’s branch, the tree started to grow and grow. Eventually, it reached the moon, Since then, Chi Hang lived on the moon for the rest of her life as a punishment for desecrating the sacred tree.