Cua Lo opens Mai Bang Temple Festival 2023

Morning of March 3 (ie February 12th of Lunar calendar),Nghi Thuy ward, Cua Lo town solemnly held the opening ceremony of Mai Bang Temple Festival 2023 and celebrated the 243rd anniversary of the construction of the Village's Thanh Hoang Temple (1780 - 2023).

Mr. Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of Nghi Thuy Ward Party Committee beats the drumOpening ceremony of Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat.

Mai Bang Temple Festival, Nghi Thuy Ward in 2023 and the 243rd anniversary of the construction of the Village's Thanh Hoang Temple (1780 - 2023) will take place over 3 days, from March 1 - 3, 2023.

Art performance at the opening ceremony of Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat.

Every three years in the years of Rat - Horse - Cat - Rooster, Mai Bang Temple Festival is held to commemorate the merits of Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi - a talented general who participated in the Lam Son uprising, helping King Le Loi defeat the invading Ming army. He helped people reclaim land and establish many prosperous villages, so after his death, the people of Mai Bang village erected a tablet to worship him and honored him as the village's tutelary god.

In addition to worshiping General Le Khoi, Mai Bang Temple also worships Lady Che Thang Nguyen Thi Bich Chau, Lady Thuy Tinh and 6 other founders of the village.

People of Nghi Thuy ward perform a fishing ritual. Photo: Ta Nhat.

Mai Bang Temple Festival consists of a ceremony and a festival. The ceremony is solemnly organized with a prayer for nails, a prayer for fish, and a palanquin procession.
The fishing ceremony involves 60 boats carrying the god's palanquin and parading on the sea.

The procession with nearly 350 electric cars and 20 large distribution motorbikes participated in the parade around the ward and around the town.

The palanquin procession at Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat

The festival is bustling with a variety of folk games: human chess, tug of war, basket shaking, stick pushing, sack jumping, and wrestling.inter-family cakes, starling singing contest...

Mai Bang Temple Festival bears the unique mark of Nghi Thuy fishing village fishermen, contributing to preserving traditional cultural values, educating patriotism, uniting the community, enriching and imbuing the cultural identity of the homeland.