About Nghe An to enjoy the festival, celebrate Spring

As an ancient land with a history of more than 990 years, Nghe An is a convergence of traditional cultural features of the Vietnamese people, of which traditional festivals are a vivid proof. Every year, in the spring in Nghe An, there are more than 10 festivals at district and provincial levels, not to mention festivals of villages and communes. This is an opportunity for visitors from near and far to explore the cultural and spiritual life of a homeland full of affection.

"Sacred address" in the civilized countryside

The Spring Festival space in Nghe An spreads from the sea, plains to the mountains and highlands. In the lowlands, people have long passed down the sacredness of the four famous temples (the four sacred animals) in the minds of the people of Nghe An: "First Con, second Qua, third Bach Ma, fourth Chieu Trung".

There are currently three temples that still maintain the Spring festival activities, including Con Temple in Quynh Phuong Ward (Hoang Mai Town); Qua Temple in Boi Son Commune (Do Luong) and Bach Ma Temple in Vo Liet Commune (Thanh Chuong). These three festivals can be considered cultural highlights, representing the cultural identity of residents in the delta and coastal areas.

Con Temple has a history of about 800 years, from the Tran Dynasty, is the place to worship the Four Holy Mothers, Con Temple Festival is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, held on the occasion of January 19-20 of the Lunar calendar. The festival truly carries the identity of the coastal residents of Cua Can (Con). Among them, we can mention: Opening ceremony, palanquin procession, announcement, fish praying, joint sacrifice at the Outer Temple, enthronement at the Inner Temple, great sacrifice, thanksgiving ceremony, vomiting run...

The festival took place in an exciting and attractive atmosphere with folk games such as chess, ball clamping, tug of war, rowing on land, pushing sticks, wrestling, grilling fish, grilling cakes... truly bringing a joyful and comfortable atmosphere to the people and tourists from all over the world who come to the festival.

The Qua Son Temple Festival is held in the last week of the first lunar month, and is also a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, a meeting place for many tourists from all over the country. The festival is an opportunity for the people of Nghe An to commemorate the merits of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang, the 8th son of King Ly Cong Uan.

The festival takes place with traditional rituals such as dragon boat procession on Lam River, Great Ceremony, Thanksgiving and exciting folk games, attracting tens of thousands of people and tourists from all over. This is one of the big and meaningful festivals in Nghe An, deeply expressing the national tradition, bringing to life the martial spirit and the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source".

Bach Ma Temple is also a national historical and cultural relic, a place to worship Phan Da, a young general who made great contributions in the resistance war against the Ming army in the 15th century, contributing with the Lam Son army to regain independence for Dai Viet. According to legend, when going to battle, Phan Da often wore white armor and rode a white horse, so people often called him "God Bach Ma".

Like the Con Temple Festival, Qua Son Temple Festival and Thanh Liet Temple Festival, the Bach Ma Temple Festival has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, held on the 8th - 10th of the second lunar month with solemn rituals to commemorate the merits of the young general Phan Da. The festival includes folk games such as wrestling, throwing con, smashing pots and an annual cultural exchange program, poetry reading attracting a large number of tourists from all over the country.

In early spring, when coming to Nghe An, tourists can visit Cuong temple (Dien Chau), Duc Hoang temple (Yen Thanh), Thanh Liet temple (Hung Nguyen) and Nguyen Xi temple (Nghi Loc)… Each festival is a unique cultural feature, expressing the spiritual beauty of the community and humanistic values ​​in the cultural homeland.

Ha hamlet leading from the highlands

If you want to learn about the cultural life of the highland residents, tourists can go up the mountain to the districts of the West to enjoy the festival. Going up National Highway 7A, the first stop is usually the Cua Rao intersection (Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong), where the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers converge. There is an ancient temple here that is over 700 years old, called Van - Cua Rao temple), which is the place to worship Doan Nhu Hai, a general of the Tran dynasty who unfortunately died in battle while pursuing the Ai Lao invaders who invaded the country.

After many ups and downs, up to now, Van-Cua Rao Temple has been restored and upgraded by Tuong Duong district and annually organizes festival activities in early spring, in the last week of the first lunar month.

Continuing upstream for about 40 km is the territory of Huu Kiem commune (Ky Son), where there is Pu Nha Thau peak and a sacred temple overlooking the Nam Mo river that flows all year round. Every spring, when the harvest is finished and the rice and corn have arrived home, the ethnic people in Ky Son joyfully enter the festival season to commemorate the gods who have protected and blessed the village life to always be peaceful and prosperous.

Saying goodbye to the Southwest region, going up Highway 48, we come to the Northwest region of Nghe An, the land formerly known as Phu Quy. The first stop is Lang Vac in Nghia Hoa commune (Thai Hoa town), a famous archaeological site in the country. For decades, at the beginning of the year, the people of Phu Quy have been excited to attend Lang Vac festival. This is an occasion to commemorate the merits of ancestors, the people who came to this land to open the mountains and break the rocks thousands of years ago, and also an occasion for ethnic groups to exchange and express their identities.

At the end of Highway 48 is Que Phong district, where there is the Nine-Garden Temple with a legend about the founding of the Thai people in Phu Quy land. At the beginning of the year, people from nine villages and ten Muongs make a pilgrimage to Muong Ton to hold a festival to worship heaven, ancestors and pray for favorable weather, good crops. This is a unique belief of the Thai people in the Northwest of Nghe An. The Nine-Garden Temple Festival is held in the middle of the second lunar month and has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

From Que Phong, we go down to Quy Chau, where there is Bua cave (called Tham Bua in Thai), a national-ranked scenic spot, where King Bao Dai once set foot to enjoy. Bua cave is located in the ancient Chieng Ngam village with stories imbued with legendary colors. Bua cave festival is associated with the legendary story of the pure, loyal but also full of twists and turns love of Ni, the daughter of a village and a poor boy.

Coming to Nghe An to attend the Spring Festival, we seem to be immersed in the sacred atmosphere, in a shimmering, magical space. In the flickering campfire, the elders tell stories of the past. We hear the echoes of drums and gongs urging us and the sounds of panpipes and flutes calling our friends...

This year, localities are making efforts to bring new features to the festival, both maintaining the sacredness of the ceremony and adding excitement and joy to the festival. Notably, the festival grounds will be expanded and many folk games will be organized for people to experience, making the festival atmosphere more joyful. At the same time, some festivals will have local specialty stalls to meet the needs of visitors from near and far to enjoy and learn about culinary culture.

Highlights of the program Celebrating the Party and Spring

2021 is approaching, all regions in the province are excitedly looking forward to activities to celebrate Tet, celebrate the Party, celebrate Spring. These activities aim to enhance creativity, enjoy spiritual and cultural values, attract a large number of people to participate, contribute to building a developed grassroots cultural life. At the same time, create a joyful and exciting atmosphere to encourage and motivate cadres and people of all walks of life to promote the patriotic emulation movement.

As planned, on the occasion of New Year's Eve, the Provincial People's Committee will organize a special art program to welcome the New Year 2021 at Ho Chi Minh Square.and film screenings at the Multi-Functional Cinema Center and entertainment venues at the Central Park and several locations in Vinh City. Districts, cities, and towns also organize cultural and artistic exchange programs "Welcome New Year 2021" and arrange entertainment venues for children.

The occasion of welcoming the Lunar New Year of Tan Suu will be truly exciting and joyful with the "Spring Colors of the West" Festival held in Tan Ky district and the Nghe An Spring Newspaper Festival 2021, activities to celebrate Vietnam Poetry Day. At the same time, there will be a photo exhibition celebrating the Party and Spring at museums; art performances, film screenings, art exchanges, folk games at Ho Chi Minh Square and district and town centers. Spring flower and ornamental plant fair in Vinh city and organizing tours, guiding visitors on the occasion of the Lunar New Year and the early Spring festival season.

In particular, the program "New Year's Eve Gala" will be held on the evening of February 11, 2021.(ie December 30, 2020)Âlunar calendar)at Ho Chi Minh Square with exciting and unique activities will certainly bring excitement and joy to the people and tourists from all over the world on the occasion of welcoming the New Year of Tan Suu 2021...