Towards a civilized festive season

(Baonghean)-The 2016 festival season is approaching, how to ensure that festivals in the province are civilized, safe and promote and spread the values ​​of good traditional cultural identity is an issue of concern to all levels and sectors...

Still messy

Con Temple Festival (Quynh Phuong Ward, Hoang Mai Town) is one of the major festivals of the province, held on the 20th - 21st of the first lunar month every year. This is the oldest traditional festival of the Quynh coastal area of ​​Nghe An, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country to attend. The festival has received strong attention, investment and socialization, thanks to which it is organized on a large scale and solemnly. However, along with the beautiful impressions of a festival imbued with the identity of the coastal region, there are still concerns about the existing aspects. During the 2015 festival season, at Con Temple, there was still a situation where businesses lacked awareness of environmental hygiene, set up stalls in a disorderly manner, littered around the temple area; noise pollution from speakers playing music too loud, not suitable for the customs and traditions of the place of worship, affecting the space of the relic and the enjoyment of the festival by visitors. In addition, there are still some banners and flags that are purely commercial and advertising; stage layouts are designed and hung not in accordance with the provisions of the Advertising Law...

Boat racing at Con Temple Festival. Photo: Tran To

On the other hand, from a professional perspective, cultural and historical experts believe that many localities have not yet conducted thorough and serious research on the origins of the festival to invest in building good, unique performances with unique features, so in general, the festival is still monotonous and similar. In many places, the organizing committee has imposed a number of available scenarios, which has lost the initiative and creativity of the people, causing the subject of the festival to decline. The cultural and civilized features of the festival therefore still have many limitations, not enough to create a strong spread, creating a "brand" of Nghe An festival to visitors near and far.

Building festival civilization

Entering the 2016 festival season, starting with the Pan Nang – Nang Hy Festival (Chau Cuong Commune, Quy Hop) and ending with the Hoang Muoi Temple Festival (Hung Thinh Commune, Hung Nguyen), the whole province has 24 large and small festivals. Currently, groups of synchronous solutions to overcome violations, towards a civilized festival season are being actively implemented by all levels, sectors and local authorities.

In Yen Thanh district, with 9 festivals a year, including 2 festivals licensed by the Provincial People's Committee, namely Duc Hoang Temple Festival (Phuc Thanh commune) and Gam Temple - Pagoda Festival (Xuan Thanh commune), the organization and management of the festival has been thoroughly directed by local authorities and Party committees. Mr. Hoang Danh Truyen - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: "The District People's Committee has established a Steering Committee for organizing the festival and assigned specific tasks to each member. In particular, focusing on rectifying and controlling business households, prohibiting acts of environmental pollution as well as the phenomenon of taking advantage of the festival to trade in prohibited, smuggled, and poor-quality goods... At the same time, planning and redesigning entertainment and goods areas; mandatory posting of service price lists; registration of business product groups to ensure both good service for the people and the sacred space of the festival".

Many people attend the Gam Pagoda festival

For the Dien Chau district government, the top priority to build a civilized festival season is to strongly eliminate superstitious activities, gambling games, and solve environmental pollution... Mr. Tran Sy Hong - Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Dien Chau district affirmed: "We have advised the district People's Committee and directed Dien An commune - where the Cuong Temple Festival takes place to specifically arrange the number of people to take care of the sanitation of the temple grounds, mobilize the participation of local youth unions to maintain order, the environment of the relic is clean, beautiful, and stable. Along with that, we will propagate and strictly punish those who practice fortune telling, superstition, and organize betting".

In mountainous districts, besides managing and organizing festivals, there are also specific difficulties in harmonizing the customs and practices of ethnic groups with the current festival civilization. The Nine-room Temple Festival (Chau Kim Commune, Que Phong) is a festival imbued with the cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group in nine villages and ten Muongs. Through many historical changes, in 2006, the festival was restored to meet the religious needs of the ethnic group. The ceremony was restored almost intact, with the highlight being the buffalo slaughtering ceremony. For the Thai ethnic group, this is a ritual of special sacred significance, demonstrating the harmony between humans and nature. However, with the current festival civilization standards, the ritual is facing many challenges that require reconciliation.

Ms. Truong Thi Tuyet Mai - Vice Chairwoman of Que Phong District People's Committee said that currently, the solution for the 2016 festival season is to still fully perform the rituals before the buffalo slaughtering ceremony, but when it comes to the ceremony, the performer will only hold the axe and symbolically cut; after that, the buffalo will still be slaughtered to share the blessings with the people. Before that, propaganda will be organized and people will be encouraged to adjust their customs to suit the festival's civilization.

Thus, festival civilization first of all requires the responsible and disciplined participation of organizers and managers, but equally important is the consensus and raising of awareness of the main participants, the masses.

Article and photos:Phuoc Anh