(To Quoc) - The flag lowering ceremony at Hue Royal Palace was reenacted to mark the end of the Tet holiday and the start of a new working year.
Performed by: Le Chung | February 4, 2025
(To Quoc) - The flag lowering ceremony at Hue Royal Palace was reenacted to mark the end of the Tet holiday and the start of a new working year.
On the morning of February 4 (January 7, At Ty year), at Hue Imperial Palace, Hue Monuments Conservation Center held a ceremony to lower the flagpole and open the new year seal.
The flag-lowering ceremony at the Hue Royal Palace was reenacted to mark the end of the Tet holiday and the start of a new working year.
During the Nguyen Dynasty, at the end of the lunar year, usually from the 23rd or 25th of December, the royal court would hold a ceremony to pack the seal (phong vien) and then erect the Thuong tieu (Thuong tieu), starting the Tet holiday that lasted about two weeks. On the 7th of January, the ceremony to lower the flagpole and open the seal package would be held.
The seal is taken down after being raised.
Imitating the ancient ritual, the flagpole lowering ceremony includes parts such as the flagpole offering, ceremonial music (grand music, small music, bell and drum beating) and the pole lowering. The flagpole in the front yard of The Mieu Temple is lowered first, followed by the flagpole in Trieu Mieu Temple.
This morning, despite the rainy weather, the rituals of the flag-lowering ceremony were still fully and solemnly reenacted.
Ceremonial music is performed throughout the flag-lowering ceremony.
After the flag-lowering ceremony, there is the opening of the New Year seal and the giving of spring greetings. Opening the seal is the ritual to start a working year of the central administrative apparatus in the past with the hope that everything will go smoothly throughout the year, with many successes, and the country will be peaceful and prosperous.
The golden seal (restored imitation) was taken down from the top of the tree with the four words "Phu - Tho - Khang - Ninh" meaning: Wealth, longevity, health, peace. The ancients believed that these words wished for peace, goodness, longevity for the country, luck, and prosperity for the people.
The seals are stamped on pieces of paper with calligraphy characters that mean luck such as Happiness, Prosperity, Longevity, Mind, Wealth, Achievement, etc. and given to visitors with the wish that many good things and luck will come to everyone in the new year. Many visitors are very happy to receive spring greetings when visiting the Hue Royal Palace on this occasion.
According to the Hue City Department of Tourism, during the 9-day Lunar New Year holiday (from January 25 to February 2, 2025), the number of visitors to the locality is estimated at 150,342, an increase of 36.67% over the same period of the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday (of which international visitors are estimated at 69,062, an increase of 81% over the same period; domestic visitors are estimated at 81,280, an increase of 12.98% over the same period). Tourism revenue is estimated at VND 245 billion, an increase of 48.48% over the same period.
Source: https://toquoc.vn/hoang-cung-hue-ha-neu-khai-an-chuc-xuan-cho-du-khach-20250204125937543.htm
Comment (0)