Dien Chau fishermen joyfully hold fishing festival, open sea gate

The fishing festival consists of a ceremony and a festival. The ceremony includes traditional rituals such as: Opening Ceremony, Proclamation Ceremony, Fishing Prayer Ceremony, Great Sacrifice Ceremony, Thanksgiving Ceremony, Peace Prayer Ceremony, Flower Release Ceremony... expressing the people's respect and gratitude to the gods and respectfully asking the gods to bless them with favorable weather, peaceful and prosperous homeland.

During the flower-releasing ceremony on the Bung River connecting Dong Loc Fishing Port with Lach Van estuary, fishermen on 9 boats participating in the procession performed the "nhung pound" ritual, with the meaning of opening the seaport, marking the seafood fishing season of fishermen; praying for the waterway to always be clear, for fishermen to go to sea and enter the inlet smoothly and safely, for their sea trips to catch a lot of shrimp and fish, and for a bountiful harvest.

The palanquin procession, lion and dragon dance, “nhung pound” procession, flower procession, sacrificial offering procession… have the participation of thousands of people carrying the palanquin, worshiping male and female mandarins, offering incense, flowers, sacrificial offerings, playing drums… on the nearly 1km road from Ca Temple to Dong Loc fishing port.

In the festival, folk games such as tug of war, blindfolded duck catching, net weaving... are rich in community spirit. In particular, the net weaving competition with the participation of 4 teams recreated the formation and development of nearly 100 years of fishing and net production of coastal village residents, attracting a large crowd of people to cheer and encourage.

Within the framework of the festival, the local government also displayed photos introducing the land, people, cultural traditions and booths introducing local specialties; organized cultural exchanges between 18 hamlets in the area.

As one of the five coastal communes of Dien Chau district, Ngoc Bich commune has an area of ​​nearly 6 km2.², with more than 29,000 people. The commune has 16 occupational groups, of which seafood exploitation has a tradition of nearly 100 years, passed down through many generations. Currently, the commune has nearly 470 vessels and boats specializing in seafood exploitation.

Over the past decades, the seafood exploitation industry has led to the development of many industries and occupations such as: ship repair, boat building, seafood processing, net weaving, ice production, fuel trading, etc., creating diversity and characteristics in the local industry structure.

Cau Ngu Festival is a traditional ritual of coastal residents with the purpose of promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation, praying for a new year with many new victories, prosperity and happiness for every family; favorable weather, calm weather, calm sea, catching a lot of fish and shrimp; at the same time, expanding cultural exchanges between communes in the district, contributing to promoting the movement of the whole people uniting to build a cultural life, promoting and attracting visitors from all directions to the homeland of Ngoc Bich.

The festival is a place to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, an opportunity for the Party Committee and local authorities to organize for the people to have fun and enjoy cultural values ​​in early spring, creating excitement for a new year of work and production.