Joyful harvest festival

(Baonghean) - On the morning of February 7th (the 8th day of the lunar calendar), Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district, organized the "Going Down to the Fields" Festival, also known as the Loong Tong Festival, at the Na Ta field (Ben Dua), Minh Chau village. This is one of the traditional festivals of the western districts of Nghe An province, held at the beginning of the new year to pray to the tutelary deities for a prosperous new year.

The festival is divided into two parts. The ceremonial part includes traditional rituals, offering to the gods trays of food made by hand, including: brocade fabrics, boiled chicken, bottled wine, rice wine, and various meatballs made from chicken, shrimp, and fish. The village shaman prays to the household gods (guardians of houses and villages), mountain gods, and river gods, asking for favorable weather, bountiful crops, protection from birds, animals, and insects, good health for the villagers, and a prosperous and happy life. After the ceremonial part comes the lively and joyful festival with the participation of hundreds of villagers in folk games such as tug-of-war and bamboo pole dancing.

At the festival, the local authorities launched the "Tree Planting Festival in Eternal Gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh." Officials and a large number of people enthusiastically participated in planting trees at the community cultural center, primary school, and other locations.

Planting trees at the beginning of the year.

The shaman performs the ritual.

Bamboo pole dance.

Farmers in Minh Chau village compete in rice planting.

Tran Ngoc Lan