The Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony is an ancient custom at the Tran Dynasty's Ancestral Temple with great humanistic meaning, praying for national peace and prosperity, and for all families to enjoy the seal of blessing.
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| Incense offering ceremony at the Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony in Nam Dinh. (Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper) |
Every year, on the night of the 14th and early morning of the 15th of the first lunar month, at the Tran Temple-Thap Pagoda historical and cultural relic site, Loc Vuong ward, Nam Dinh city, Nam Dinh province, the Seal Opening Ceremony takes place. This is an ancient custom at the Tran Dynasty's Ancestral Temple with great humanistic significance, praying for national peace and prosperity, and for all families to enjoy the "Infinite Blessings" seal of the Tran Temple.
Besides its cultural value, the Seal Opening Ceremony also has profound historical education, demonstrating the nation's morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking water".
Sacred Seal Opening Ceremony
On the evening of February 11 (January 14 of the Lunar calendar), the weather in Nam Dinh was very favorable, with a chilly, no rain, suitable for spring outings and sightseeing. As the night wore on, the number of people and vehicles coming to Tran Temple increased. Everyone wanted to witness the sacred Seal Opening Ceremony and wanted to receive lucky seals with the belief that everything would be smooth and favorable in the new year.
Mr. Doan Van Su, Nam Phong Ward, Nam Dinh City shared that although this year's Seal Opening Ceremony coincided with working days, there were still many people coming to Tran Temple to worship. From 8 pm, the parking lots here were full of vehicles.
“This year, I will stay here until the temple finishes the Seal Opening Ceremony, then I will go in to perform the ceremony in the early hours of January 15 and ask for the seal,” said Mr. Doan Van Su.
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| The procession of the seal is one of the most anticipated rituals of the Tran Temple Seal Opening Festival. (Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper) |
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh, Head of the Management Board of the Tran Temple-Thap Pagoda Historical and Cultural Relic Site, the Seal Opening Ceremony is a cultural custom with profound humanity. The essence of the four words engraved on the seal is "Tich phuc vo cuong" (Infinite blessings) that King Tran gave to his descendants with the desire to preserve family traditions, discipline, and accumulate blessings well so that future blessings will be sustainable.
Currently, the Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony has been organized with full traditional rituals and many unique cultural activities, becoming an attractive spiritual cultural tourist destination for visitors.
According to the plan, from 10:40 p.m., a ceremony will be held to carry the palanquin from Co Trach Temple, where the National Duke, Commander-in-Chief, Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan is worshiped, to Thien Truong Temple, where the tablets of 14 Tran kings are placed. The palanquin will be placed in front of Trung Thien altar.
In the sacred space of the ancient temple, the leader of the People's Committee of Nam Dinh city will read a speech praising the great contributions of the Tran Dynasty in building and defending the country with the bright Dong A spirit, defeating the Yuan-Mongol invaders three times. Affirming that the Seal Opening Ceremony carries deep traditional cultural values, demonstrating the nation's morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking".
From 11:15 p.m., the Seal Opening Ceremony will be performed according to traditional rituals. 14 elders of Loc Vuong ward and representatives of several departments, branches, and organizations will enter the inner palace to witness the ceremony and stamp the Seal Opening Ceremony (14 yellow paper seals).
The head of Tran Temple will be responsible for keeping these seals to present to the communal houses and pagodas in the area. During the Seal Opening Ceremony, the door of Thien Truong Temple will be closed to ensure solemnity.
From 11:55 p.m., Tran Temple will reopen for people and tourists to celebrate the New Year. From 5 a.m. on February 12 (January 15), the temple will organize the distribution of seals at Giai Vu House, the exhibition house and Trung Hoa Temple.
Many special activities
Tran Temple Seal Opening Festival is one of the typical Spring festivals of the ancient Thien Truong land - present-day Nam Dinh, the birthplace of the Tran Dynasty, attracting a large number of people and tourists from near and far, becoming an indispensable spiritual tourist destination for people every Spring.
According to the Management Board of the Tran Temple - Thap Pagoda Historical and Cultural Relic Site, from the beginning of the year of At Ty 2025 until now, on average, thousands of visitors have come to Tran Temple every day to visit and worship.
After more than 5 years of construction, the investment project to build the Festival Center in the Tran Dynasty Historical-Cultural Relic Site has been basically completed and put into use with many architectural highlights. Festival activities are increasingly expanded with many rich and unique activities attracting a large number of tourists.
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| Solemn and solemn atmosphere at the Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony, Nam Dinh. (Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper) |
During the festival days, at locations within the Tran Temple Relic Site and Dong A Square, many cultural and artistic activities, folk games, displays and exhibitions will be held such as: water puppetry performances, lion-monkey-dragon dances, cockfighting, human chess competitions, ornamental plant displays, OCOP products in Nam Dinh province, photo exhibition "Thanh Nam - historical milestones", display of beautiful photos of Nam Dinh tourism...
To ensure security and safety for the Opening Ceremony, Nam Dinh Provincial Police have developed a plan, mobilizing more than 2,500 officers and soldiers divided into 5 rounds to implement plans to ensure traffic safety, fire prevention and fighting; prevent and combat crimes, thoroughly prevent and handle begging, theft and pickpocketing in the festival area.
In particular, on the night of the Opening Seal Ceremony, the Traffic Police will direct vehicles entering the city from a distance, restricting large vehicles from entering the festival area.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu, Vice Chairwoman of Nam Dinh City People's Committee, said that the Organizing Committee has deployed plans to ensure medical and environmental sanitation at the festival locations, while strengthening inspection work, promptly preventing and strictly handling violations of the law during the festival to create a good impression on visitors, spreading the cultural beauty of the Spring Opening Festival.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dam-gia-tri-van-hoa-truyen-thong-tai-le-khai-an-den-tran-nam-dinh-304063.html
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