Tran Temple Festival 2013: 500,000 seals will be prepared.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoat, Head of the Management Board of the Tran Temple - Thap Pagoda historical and cultural relic site (Nam Dinh), said that during the Tran Temple seal-opening ceremony in the Spring of Quy Ty 2013, the Organizing Committee plans to prepare 500,000 seals, double the number in 2012, to meet the needs of the people and visitors from all over.

On the morning of January 25th, during a working session with a delegation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, led by Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan, in Nam Dinh, Mr. Hoat further stated that this year's seal-opening festival will continue to be implemented according to the plan that was first developed and implemented in 2012, with four main components.

The procession of the royal seal palanquin at Tran Temple. (Source: VNA)

Accordingly, the festival is held over three days, January 14th, 15th, and 16th of the Lunar calendar, with the main event being the Seal Opening Ceremony at midnight on January 14th/early morning of January 15th; the Seal Distribution Ceremony starting at 7:00 AM on January 15th of the Lunar calendar and lasting until the end of the month; a single type of seal paper is issued; and the incense offering ceremony is performed before the seal procession.

A notable achievement of the 2012 Seal Opening Festival organization was the successful diversion of visitors to subsequent days, reducing overcrowding at the time of the ceremony and facilitating security and order maintenance.

The Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony, held annually at the beginning of the new spring, is an ancient custom at the Tran Dynasty's Ancestral Temple (formerly Tuc Mac village) with profound humanistic significance: praying for peace and prosperity throughout the land, for all families to share in the blessings of the Tran Temple's seal ("Accumulating Boundless Blessings"); and for everyone to enter the new year healthy, working hard, producing diligently, and excelling in their studies and work.

The festival also aims to preserve and promote the cultural and educational values ​​of the patriotic resistance against foreign invaders of our ancestors, especially during the Tran Dynasty, in order to attract and promote the cultural beauty of Nam Dinh province to domestic and international tourists.

According to Vietnamplus - LC