Bắc giang
Unique spring festivals in Bac Giang
Xuong Giang Festival
Xuong Giang Festival is held every year on the sixth and seventh of the first lunar month. This is a historical festival commemorating the Chi Lang - Xuong Giang Victory in 1427 of Dai Viet's army and people, defeating nearly 100,000 Ming invaders. The victory is recorded in history books as a decisive strategic battle in the nation’s history against foreign invaders.
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Xuong Giang Festival. |
Xuong Giang Festival is one of the festivals with a large scale and pervasiveness. It is held at Xuong Giang Temple - the center of the Xuong Giang Victory special national relic site, in Xuong Giang ward, Bac Giang city, featuring solemn, colorful ceremonies.
On the main festival day (the sixth day of the first lunar month), along with the majestic processions, an incense-offering ceremony, a flag-raising ceremony, speech delivery, the reading of the "Dai Cao Binh Ngo" (the second declaration of independence of Vietnam), and a military launching ceremony are solemnly held. They are followed by folk games such as human chess, wrestling, football, cockfighting and swinging; quan ho (love duet) and cheo (traditional opera); and the reenactment of a rural market space.
Sacred Tay Yen Tu Spring Festival
The Tay Yen Tu Spring Festival associated with the Bac Giang Culture and Tourism Week has in recent years become an annual cultural and tourism event of the province held in Son Dong district.
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The opening ceremony of the Tay Yen Tu Spring Festival and the Bac Giang Culture and Tourism Week 2023. |
The festival aims to promote unique cultural values and tourism potential, especially the cultural space of Truc Lam Buddhist Zen sect in Tay Yen Tu region; and commemorate King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong and the three founders of the Truc Lam Zen sect. Outstanding activities include processions, the opening ceremony of the Culture and Tourism Week with a special art performance, a bell ringing ceremony, and a ceremony to pray for peaceful nation and happy people. In addition, there are many cultural, spiritual, artistic and sports activities such as the Spring Newspaper Festival, a display of beautiful photos featuring the province’s outstanding events and socio-economic achievements; tug of war and stick pushing competitions.
The Tay Yen Tu ecological - spiritual tourist area combines ecological, historical, and cultural elements of the Tay Yen Tu region, creating a tourist highlight of Bac Giang province in particular and the region in general.
Yen The Festival
This is one of the very rare festivals held on a calendar day - March 16 every year in Phon Xuong town, the center of Yen The district, and a number of related locations. The historical festival commemorates insurgent leader Hoang Hoa Tham and the heroic Yen The Uprising against the French colonialists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The festival begins with an opening speech, followed by a parade praising the strength of the forces and a majestic art performance by the provincial Cheo Theater’s artists featuring the images of Hoang Hoa Tham and his insurgents.
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Re-enacting the flag offering ceremony of the Yen The insurgent army at the Yen The Festival. |
Immediately after the parade and art performance, cultural, artistic, sports, and folk entertainment activities are held in many locations. In recent years, the system of Yen The Uprising national relic sites have been embellished and restored, using different sources. Every year on the occasion of early spring and festivals, tens of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists come here to visit ancient vestiges and offer incense to commemorate the national hero Hoang Hoa Tham.
Van village mud ball wrestling - a unique festival
The Van village mud ball wrestling festival is held at Ha Temple (Main Temple) in Van village (now hamlet 4, Yen Vien village), Van Ha commune, Viet Yen district. The festival is to recall the Tam Giang Saints’ fight against the enemy, and thank them for giving the villagers a prosperous life. According to the village's convention, the festival is held once every four years.
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A ball competition at the Van village bud ball wrestling festival. |
The competition to capture the ball takes place vibrantly on a muddy field amid the cheers of the villagers. The participating young men, who are sitting in a circle in the field, right after receiving a drum order, immediately stand up and lift the ball above their heads, cheering and competing for the ball to drop it into the opponents’ hole. The competition is very fierce and can last for 2 or 3 days. Usually each side has one win and one draw. At the end of the game, the hosting village cleans the ball and then puts it back on the shelf to pay homage to the Saints.
The Van village mud ball wrestling festival bears the spirituality of wet rice farmers and many elements of prosperity, physical exercise, and spiritual satisfaction.
"Mr. Lang" worshipping ceremony in Tan Phuong village
As scheduled, Tan Phuong village (formerly known as Phung Cong Trang), Tan My commune, Bac Giang city holds a ceremony to worship and process "Mr. Lang" on the 12th day of the second lunar month every year. This is also the village's festival day. Legend has it that the god worshiped in Phung Phap temple is named Hoang Pho Lang, a mandarin in the Le Dynasty and also the first intellectual of the village. He always paid attention to exploring the land and taking care of crops, helping people in the area have a prosperous life. Remembering his merits, the villagers set up a temple to worship him. During the worshipping ceremony and procession, a live black male pig is selected and called it "Mr. Lang". To have the "Mr. Lang" they want, households choose a good piglet and take care of it very carefully until the village festival.
My Binh
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