Hue Nam Temple Festival, a traditional feature of Hue culture

The procession of the Holy Mother moves along the Perfume River to Hon Chen Temple. The Hue Nam Temple Festival (or Hon Chen Temple) is a traditional activity with spiritual and cultural elements to worship the Holy Mother Thien YA Na, held in March and July every year. The activity is considered colorful and vibrant, attracting a large number of followers of the Mother Goddess Worship belief with tens of thousands of people attending. This is also considered a traditional folk cultural festival with a community character typical of the ancient capital of Hue. The procession of the Holy Mother moves along the Perfume River to Hon Chen Temple. The festival takes place over two days, April 8-9 (ie March 2-3 of the lunar calendar) with traditional rituals periodically every year. Having the opportunity to visit Hue, let's explore this traditional cultural festival with Vietnam.vn through the photo series "Hue Cultural Tradition" by author Bui Minh Hien. The Hue Nam Temple Festival is a traditional folk festival associated with the Hue Nam Temple relic and Hai Cat communal house in Huong Tho commune, Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province. At the festival, in the temple area and the area on the river in front of the temple, there is a procession of Thien YA Na Thanh Mau from Hai Cat village, a ceremony to welcome Thanh Mau back to the temple, a ceremony to release animals and lanterns. On large platforms, people following the Thanh Mau religion organize a ceremony to serve the high-ranking officials, uncles, aunts; the first, second, and third deities. The photo series was taken by the author in Thua Thien Hue and submitted to the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam - Happy Vietnam", organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The ceremony at Hue Nam Temple was held very solemnly. The villagers held a ceremony at Hai Cat communal house. Before the main ceremony, there was a ceremony to welcome all the gods in the village to the communal house. After the ceremony, the procession of the Holy Mother takes place on the Perfume River, the procession goes by boat from Hue Nam temple to Hai Cat communal house. The paired boats are decorated with bright candles and colorful flags. The procession carries the altar of the Holy Mother, the palanquin of the Holy Mother, the royal decree and the ritual objects such as umbrellas, umbrellas, flags, fans... to the music of the singing troupe and the octet troupe. After welcoming the god, the villagers perform the Tuc Yet ceremony according to traditional rituals. Singing, spirit possession, and spirit possession take place all night long. The next morning is the main ceremony at the communal house. After that is the Tong Than ceremony. In the afternoon, the palanquins solemnly return to Hon Chen temple. At the end of the festival, there is a ceremony to release animals and release lanterns. Having gone through the ups and downs of history, in recent years this festival has been restored according to traditional customs imbued with the colors of local folk culture. The Hon Chen Temple Festival is also known as the Mother's Festival, not only for the followers of Thien Tien Thanh Giao, but also for those who follow the religion of Mother worship, filial piety, and humanity. In that sense, the restoration of the Hon Chen Temple Festival is the restoration of a traditional cultural value. In 2024, the Photo and Video Contest "Happy Vietnam" continues to be organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists on the website https://happy.vietnam.vn for all Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and over. The contest aims to honor individuals and groups with positive information products, making practical contributions to the propaganda and promotion of a beautiful image of Vietnam to the world. Thereby helping people in the country, compatriots abroad and international friends access authentic images of the country, Vietnamese people, Vietnam's achievements in ensuring human rights, towards a happy Vietnam. Each contest category (photo and video) has the following prizes and prize values: - 01 Gold Medal: 70,000,000 VND - 02 Silver Medals: 20,000,000 VND - 03 Bronze Medals: 10,000,000 VND - 10 Encouragement Prizes: 5,000,000 VND - 01 most voted work: 5,000,000 VND The winning authors will be invited by the Organizing Committee to attend the Announcement Ceremony and Award Ceremony and Certificate on live television of Vietnam Television.

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