On March 8-9, 2025 (February 9-10 of the lunar calendar), the Bach Ma Temple Festival 2025 in Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An) was held with solemn traditional rituals and many unique festival activities of Thanh Chuong land in the Southwest of Nghe An province, attracting a large number of people and tourists from all over the country to participate.
Bach Ma Temple in Nghe An is associated with the famous general Phan Da, who was from Chi Linh village, Vo Liet commune, Tho Du district, now Kim Bang commune, Thanh Chuong district. Since childhood, he was famous for his intelligence, martial arts skills, and outstanding talent.
In 1418, when Le Loi led the Lam Son army to temporarily retreat to Nghe An as a base to gather forces, Phan Da brought his soldiers to join Le Loi's army. From then on, he became a famous brave general, achieving many glorious feats. Unfortunately, while disguised to investigate the enemy situation, he was discovered. After fighting with the enemy, he was seriously injured and died at the age of 24.
Because the famous general Phan Da often wore white armor and rode a white horse, later, King Le Thai To (ie Le Loi) ordered the construction of a temple at the place where he sacrificed and named it Bach Ma Temple. The King granted the temple the rank of "International Ceremony", meaning a ceremony according to state rituals presided over by a court official. Through that, we can see the important role of the temple and the high position of the Supreme God worshiped here in the life and culture of Nghe An province in particular and the whole country in general.
During the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, Bach Ma Temple was used to organize secret activities of the Vo Liet Commune Farmers' Association. In 1945, the people of Vo Liet commune gathered at the temple before going to the district office to overthrow the feudal colonial government and many important events of the Thanh Chuong people in the two resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism.
Bach Ma Temple is considered one of the four most beautiful and sacred temples in Nghe An "Nhat Con, Nhi Qua, Tam Bach Ma, Tu Chieu Trung" and has been ranked as a "national historical, architectural and artistic relic" since 1994. Since 2000, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An and Thanh Chuong district have restored the festival, organized on the 9th and 10th of the second lunar month and invested the budget to renovate, upgrade, expand the campus and purchase sacrificial objects. Currently, the temple is larger in scale and this year's festival has attracted tens of thousands of visitors from the district and all over to worship. With the unique cultural values of the Temple, in 2019, Bach Ma Temple Festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The festival consists of two parts: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony includes: the opening ceremony, the incense offering ceremony at Phan Da's tomb, the incense offering ceremony at the outer palace. Especially, the procession of the throne and the tablet of the Bach Ma god to the outer palace with the participation of thousands of people; the announcement ceremony, the god worship ceremony and the thanksgiving ceremony.
The festival includes activities such as men's volleyball and folk games such as pot smashing, wrestling, tug of war, stilt walking, vase-making, poetry recitation, painting and calligraphy, displaying OCOP products, especially the elegant female student competition with the participation of 14 contestants from 7 high schools in the district.
Bach Ma Temple Festival is held annually to preserve and promote the values of national cultural heritage, contributing to meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, educating the tradition of "drinking water, remembering the source" and remembering the merits of General Phan Da and other national heroes. Bach Ma Temple Festival is the link between the past, present and future, making the traditional cultural flow of Thanh Chuong - Nghe An forever exist in the national culture.
Source: https://nhiepanhdoisong.vn/le-hoi-den-bach-ma-huyen-thanh-chuong-nam-2025-15847.html
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