This large festival is held on the 9th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar. The date commemorates Saint Giong who defeated the An invaders. In order to show their gratitude to the hero of Giong Village who sacrificed his life to fight invaders, the people proclaimed him Saint Giong. The Giong Festival…
To get to Kiep Bac Temple from Hanoi City, take the National Highway that leads to the township of Bac Ninh (about 30 km). Then, go along National Highway No.18 that stretches from Bac Ninh to Pha Lai, and which eventually leads to Kiep Bac Temple. The Kiep Bac Temple Festival lasts from the 15th…
From time immemorial, boat racing has appeared in Vietnam. It is not only a competition but also a ritual in honour of the Water God, stemming from the act of praying for water among agricluture-based people. In some places there are only two boats in competition (in Ðào Xá, Phú Tho), a male boat with the…
The game of vieing for ball is a ritual in some festivals or a custom in others. Its names and rules can be different from locality to locality. It is an activity wishing for bumper crops of the peasants. A round wooden ball, sometimes a coconut or grapefruit must undergo the ritual of presenting to…
Both boys and girls play the game of keo cua lua xe. Two children sit opposite each other, holding each other’s hands tightly. While reciting a song, they push and pull each other’s arms and pretend as if they are sawing a piece of wood between them. They say each word as they push or…
Every year, on the 15th day of the 8th month in lunar calendar, the children throughout the country in Vietnam are given permission by their parents to march in a procession and carry their lanterns, to eat the Mid-Autumn Festival cakes and to perform the dragon (unicorn) dance, oh, how great and uproarious they…
Every year, on the 15th day of the 8th month in lunar calendar, the children throughout the country in Vietnam are given permission by their parents to march in a procession and carry their lanterns, to eat the Mid-Autumn Festival cakes and to perform the dragon (unicorn) dance, oh, how great and uproarious they…
The first day is for the ceremony to receive the great calendar. Moha Sang-Kran is considered a calendar which gives a detailed account of dates and festivals in a year and a forecast of rainfall so the villagers can foresee if they get a good or bad crop that year. On this day, at a…
Fire dancing is one of the most thrilling traditional arts performed by young men in the northern province of Ha Giang. After the last harvest at the end of the year, young boys of the Pa Then Ethnic Minority Group in Bac Quang and Quang Binh Districts in Ha Giang Province hold a fire dancing ceremony…
Two festival seasons have been held annually in Con Son Pagoda in the Chi Linh District of the northern province of Hai Duong. The spring festival season originated on the 22nd day of the first lunar month in 1334 and marks the anniversary of the death of monk Huyen Quang, one of the founders of Truc…
