Sacred Duc Hoang Temple Festival

(Baonghean) - Every year, from January 30 and February 1 (lunar calendar), people from all over come to attend the Duc Hoang Temple Festival in Phuc Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh). Before the opening day, the festival takes place with many activities imbued with the cultural identity of the region, safe, economical, attracting a large number of people in the region and tourists from all over to participate.

Procession at Duc Hoang Temple, Phuc Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: PV

Historical value mark

History records that Duc Hoang Temple was built during the Tran Dynasty, worshiping Sat Hai Dai Vuong Hoang Ta Thon (he was born on April 15, 1254 in a fishing family in Van Phan village, Dong Thanh district; now Dien Van commune, Dien Chau district). According to legend, Hoang Ta Thon was an intelligent, handsome young man with a talent for swimming. When the country was invaded by the Yuan-Mongol army, Hoang Ta Thon followed the call of the court to go fight the enemy. He was recommended to meet Hung Dao Vuong and was appointed by Hung Dao Vuong to join the elite naval army and also recruited him to be a domestic student and further trained in military books and tactics.

At the end of 1287, when the Yuan-Mongol invaders returned to invade Dai Viet for the third time, Hoang Ta Thon was assigned to command tens of thousands of marines and ships; thanks to his skillful use of tactics, he commanded the ambush army to defeat the Yuan-Mongol army on the Bach Dang River. With that glorious achievement, he was awarded the title “Sat Hai Chang Lai Dai Tuong Quan” by the King and assigned to command the army to defend the coastal region.

However, during a patrol on the Hoang Hoa sea route in Thanh Hoa province, he unfortunately fell ill and suddenly passed away. After hearing the news, the royal court was extremely saddened, sent a royal boat to carry his coffin back to his hometown for burial and built a temple to worship him; at the same time, posthumously awarded him the title "Trung dung bao duc trung hung ho quoc tich dan Sat Hai Dai Tuong Quan Thien Bong Nguyen soai chi than" and issued a decree for many localities to build temples to worship him.

Duc Hoang Temple historical and cultural relic - one of the spiritual and cultural destinations. Photo archive

Accordingly, Duc Hoang Temple (Phuc Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District) was built in a prime location with beautiful natural scenery. The temple is considered one of the "Dong Thanh Bat Canh" (eight most beautiful scenes of Dong Thanh land) because of its majestic and ancient feng shui surrounding it. The temple was ranked as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information according to Decision No. 95/QD-BVHTT dated January 24, 1998. Every year, Duc Hoang Temple Festival is held on January 30 and February 1 (lunar calendar) to educate generations to always maintain the tradition of drinking water and remembering its source, remembering the merits of Sat Hai Dai Vuong Hoang Ta Thon and the gods who have contributed to the nation and the people.

Promoting traditional beauty

Phuc Thanh is a mountainous commune 7km from the center of Yen Thanh district. In recent years, in the spirit of implementing Decision No. 308/2005/QD-TTg dated November 25, 2005 of the Prime Minister on implementing civilized lifestyle in weddings, funerals and festivals, with the attention, direction and assistance of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (old) and the district, every year, the People's Committee of Phuc Thanh commune successfully organizes the Duc Hoang Temple Festival, which is recognized and highly appreciated by people in and outside the region.

The Duc Hoang Temple Festival is a traditional beauty that contributes to preserving and promoting the good cultural values ​​of the relic and meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the local residents. This year's Duc Hoang Temple Festival takes place for 3 days, starting from January 29 and the first and second days of the second lunar month (February 25-27, 2017) with many activities imbued with the cultural identity of the region and visitors from all over the world come to pay their respects and visit, becoming a festival of district and provincial scale.

Traditional boat racing at Duc Hoang Temple Festival. Photo courtesy

The festival is divided into 2 parts by the organizers: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony has been completed according to the script, solemn and respectful, preserving the beauty of the ceremony; the festival with rich activities in the relic area such as: The final of the men's volleyball tournament in Yen Thanh district, the women's volleyball exchange of strong teams in the district; traditional wrestling, stick pushing, tug of war, drum competition between clans, boat racing, tug of war, cockfighting, wrestling, human chess, swinging, wrestling, catching fish, catching ducks, jumping rope, cooking rice, walking on the bridge... and the new feature is the bird singing competition.

To ensure the safety of visitors, the Organizing Committee of Duc Hoang Temple Festival has established a department responsible for food safety, environmental sanitation, fire prevention, security and order to ensure the festival takes place safely and orderly as well as create the most favorable conditions for visitors before, during and after the festival. In particular, activities that take advantage of beliefs, superstitions, and burning of votive paper money must not take place.

In order for the Duc Hoang Temple Festival to truly become a cultural festival for people throughout the region, promoting its inherent values, in addition to organizing the festival well, every year, Yen Thanh district and Phuc Thanh commune invest budget to build environmental landscapes, repair and upgrade degraded items, clear the area around the lotus lake to make roads for tourists to visit, build sports facilities to serve the festival such as expanding the stadium, festival yard, flag yard, procession stage, closed sanitation facilities to serve tourists attending the festival, renew the lighting system, build an additional power station specifically for the relic, clean water system, plant more trees...

Objects at Duc Hoang Temple Festival. Photo: PV

Coming to Duc Hoang Temple Festival, visitors can also visit Tran Dang Dinh Temple, Dinh Huong Temple, Ca Temple, De Tam Temple, Quang Temple, Len Temple, Vu Ky Temple, Mac Phuc Thanh's tomb, Thien Tao Pagoda; Qua Nai Ecological Park located in the middle of the countryside with primeval forest... This year, the number of visitors coming to Duc Hoang Temple Festival is much larger than in previous years.

Dinh Van Duong