Unique Banh Chung and Banh Day offering ceremony at the most sacred temple in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of February 16, the Management Board of Con Temple solemnly held a ceremony to offer Chung cake and Day cake - a custom that has been maintained for over 200 years at the most sacred temple in Nghe An (first Con, second Qua, third Bach Ma), imbued with the unique cultural identity of coastal people.
The elderly in traditional costumes, formal turbans and the, on both sides were rows of female officials in ao dai and headscarves, performing traditional sacrificial rituals.
This is a custom that has been maintained and preserved for over 200 years, a unique intangible cultural product of the locality, held on the 7th day of the first lunar month every year.
Banh chung and banh day are special products and offerings, passed down from the time of King Hung Vuong. The square banh chung symbolizes the earth, the banh day symbolizes the sky.
The annual traditional cake offering ceremony aims to thank heaven and earth, the gods and the sages who have contributed to the country and the people, to pray for national peace, people's safety, favorable weather, calm seas, and to praise the sacredness of Con Temple, as well as the landscape and beauty of the people of the ancient Phuong Can land, now Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town. This activity aims to preserve and promote the value of Con Temple relics in general and the Chung cake and Day cake offering ceremony in particular.
To have beautiful, delicious, soft, fragrant cakes to offer to the Holy Mother on the cake offering day, the rice selection process is especially important. The rice used to make the cakes is the round, plump, unbroken golden sticky rice. Chung cakes are wrapped by skilled people selected by the villagers. As for Day cakes, making them requires more effort.
Before the day of the cake offering ceremony, the skillful, hard-working, and resourceful women of Phuong Can village were selected to cook dozens of pots of sticky rice. The young men of the fishing village were the ones who directly pounded the sticky rice. When the sticky rice was soft, it was pressed into cakes, and the task of shaping the cakes into beautiful round shapes was assigned to the skilled and skillful people.
After the cake offering ceremony ends, the cakes are divided equally among the villagers and tourists with the wish that everyone will have good luck and peace. The Chung cake and Day cake offering ceremony is also a cultural event to improve the spiritual life of the people. Contributing to the propaganda and promotion of the cultural traditions, homeland and people of Hoang Mai to friends and tourists from all over.
Since the first day of Tet, the number of visitors coming to visit and worship at Con Temple has been very large, with thousands of people every day. The organization of the ceremonial activities at the temple has been carefully and seriously prepared by the Management Board. Visitors coming here have strictly followed the temple's regulations in worshiping, offering incense, flowers, and burning votive paper money, creating a solemn and orderly atmosphere. Services for visitors are arranged reasonably, not affecting the activities of playing, worshiping, and praying, making the Con Temple relic even more sacred in the first days of the new year./.
.jpg "Độc đáo bộ sưu tập cờ, trống trong phong trào cách mạng ở Nghệ An")
