Opening of Bach Ma Temple Festival 2024
(Baonghean.vn) - The Bach Ma Temple Festival 2024 officially opened on the morning of March 19 with traditional rituals imbued with national identity.
The Bach Ma Temple Festival in 2024 is held to commemorate and pay tribute to the merits of General Phan Da - a general who made great contributions to helping the Lam Son army in the resistance war against the invading Ming army.
Attending the event were leaders of the Department of Culture - Sports, Provincial Monument Management Board; leaders of the Party Committee, government, Fatherland Front and mass organizations of Thanh Chuong district, and two communes of Vo Liet and Thanh Long.
Bach Ma Temple was built during the reign of King Le to worship Phan Da, a young general who contributed to the resistance war against the Ming army in the first half of the 15th century.
Bach Ma Temple Festival was formed in association with the formation of Bach Ma Temple for more than 500 years. This is the oldest festival in Nghe An with many unique traditional cultural values of Thanh Chuong land; listed as an "International Ceremony" - a ceremony according to state rituals presided over by a royal mandarin.
Through many ups and downs of history, Bach Ma Temple Festival has changed to suit the context and actual conditions. Since 1994, when it was ranked as a "National Historical - Cultural - Architectural Artistic Relic" by the Ministry of Culture - Information (now the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism) to the present; the Party Committee, government and people of Thanh Chuong district have restored the festival with all the ancient ritual activities and festivities of the past. In 2020, Bach Ma Temple Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism.
Bach Ma Temple Festival 2024 will be held from the 7th to the 10th day of the second lunar month (ie March 16 - 19, 2024).
Before the opening ceremony and the grand ceremony, during the 3 days of February 7-9 of the lunar calendar, the festival organizing committee and people held traditional rituals, including the opening ceremony at Bach Ma temple and Phu Ngoai - the residence of General Phan Da; the announcement ceremony at Bach Ma temple; the palanquin procession from Bach Ma temple through the villages of Vo Liet and Thanh Long communes; the incense offering ceremony at Phu Ngoai (Minh Tan village, Vo Liet commune) and at the tomb of General Phan Da (Long Bien hamlet, Thanh Long commune).
As for the festival, there were exciting cultural and sports activities, attracting a large number of people and tourists to participate, including men's volleyball competition, folk games: wrestling, pot smashing, chess, volleyball, tug of war...; organizing booths to display, promote and introduce OCOP products, typical of Thanh Chuong district.
At the opening ceremony this morning, the festival organizing committee held a solemn ceremony to worship the gods in the traditional culture of the ancient royal court. After the ceremony, this afternoon, the organizing committee will hold a ceremony to thank the gods and close the festival.
To preserve and promote the national intangible cultural heritage of Bach Ma Temple Festival associated with tourism development, Thanh Chuong district is coordinating with relevant sectors and units to promote planning, putting Bach Ma Temple Festival on the tourism map, spiritual and cultural sightseeing routes of the province; associated with research on diverse tourism products typical of Thanh Chuong region./
