King Le Loi Temple Festival: held on the 12th day of the first lunar month every year in Doan Ket ward, Lai Chau city, Lai Chau province. This is an opportunity for Lai Chau people and visitors from all over to commemorate the great contributions of the national liberation hero - King Le Loi. Although it takes place on the 12th day of the first lunar month, throughout January and February, King Le Loi Temple is crowded with people and visitors from all over the world coming to make pilgrimages.
Offering incense is one of the important rituals at the King Le Loi Temple Festival.
Coming to the King Le Loi Temple Festival (Lai Chau city), people and tourists not only satisfy their wishes for luck and peace but also participate in incense offering rituals, drum beating to open the festival and many other exciting and attractive cultural and sports activities.
View of the entrance gate to King Le Loi Temple in Doan Ket Ward, Lai Chau City, Lai Chau Province
Gau Tao Festival: held in Dao San commune, Phong Tho district; Sa De Phin commune, Sin Ho district, Ta Leng commune, Tam Duong district and Sung Phai commune, Lai Chau city;... from the 8th day of Tet to the 15th day of the first lunar month with 2 parts: the ceremony and the festival.
The Khen Dance is one of the cultural beauties of the Mong people at the Gau Tao Festival.
The ceremony is the opening ceremony to pray for blessings, fortune, thank heaven and earth, and the gods for blessing the people with a new year of bountiful harvests, good health, and a prosperous and happy life for every family, and the opening ritual of singing and dancing with musical instruments. The festival takes place with rich and diverse content, imbued with the cultural identity of the Mong people, such as performing arts competitions, cooking thang co, pounding sticky rice cakes, blindfolded gong beating, blindfolded duck catching, pao throwing, climbing the pole and traditional folk sports competitions.... This is one of the festivals that people and tourists look forward to every time Tet comes.
Pounding rice cake is an indispensable game at Gau Tao festival that any visitor attending the festival can experience directly.
Han Festival: This is The spiritual cultural beauty of the White Thai ethnic group in Muong So, Phong Tho in particular and the Northwest region in general is eagerly awaited by the people and tourists from all over.
Coming to the Festival, visitors have the opportunity to participate in the solidarity dance.
According to legend, Nang Han was born into a poor Thai family in Chieng Sa (now Muong So commune). She disguised herself as a man, stood up to call on young men from the villages to unite to fight the enemy and led the uprising of the 16 Thai people who bravely defeated the Northern invaders. After leading the victorious army back, she bathed in Tay An spring (Muong So commune) and then flew up to the sky. Since then, to commemorate her merits, the people have built a temple and held a festival right at the spring on the 15th day of the second lunar month every year, praying for prosperity, a peaceful life, and good crops. In 2009, the festival was restored and maintained annually at the commune level, attracting a large number of people from all ethnic groups in and outside the area to participate. In 2017, Nang Han temple was recognized by Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee as a provincial-level architectural and artistic relic.
According to the belief of the White Thai people of Muong So, water from Nang Han spring will bring luck to everyone. Therefore, anyone participating in the festival should wash their hands here for good luck.
Tu Ti Festival: According to the Giay language, Tu Ti means the land god, the god who governs the land. The festival is held annually on the 2nd of the 2nd lunar month. Like other festivals, the Tu Ti festival is divided into 2 parts: In the ceremony, the shaman is the bridge between the people and the land god. The shaman will worship for the first time to invite the land god to receive the offerings and to pray for a good harvest, for the villagers to be healthy, for livestock to thrive, and for them to be free from disease. After the first worship, people will slaughter pigs and chickens on the spot, then boil them and worship for the second time.
Performing unique cultural performances of the Giay ethnic group is an indispensable part of the Tu Ti Festival.
The festival took place in a joyful and exciting atmosphere with many folk games and unique competitions such as crossbow shooting, tug of war, tom ma le, sack jumping, duck ring tossing... for people and tourists to experience and have fun.
Then Kin Pang Festival: Held annually on March 10 every year in Muong So commune, Phong Tho district, including 2 parts: The ceremony part with rituals of worship and incense offering, expressing gratitude to heaven, earth and gods; The festival part takes place with rich and diverse activities, recreating the daily cultural activities of the Thai people such as: buttoning com shirts, weaving fishing nets, making Tinh lutes in the skill or craft competition; traditional gong and drum dance and folk games.
The Then lady performing the Then invitation ritual is one of the very important rituals of the Then Kin Pang festival.
In particular, the two contents of the festival that are always eagerly awaited and participated in by locals and tourists are the reenactment of the "Thai people's hair washing custom" and "Water splashing for luck" by Thai boys and girls of Muong So region by the Nam Lum stream.
Thai hair washing custom
Bun Voc Nam Festival: Is a traditional ritual in the spiritual culture of Lao people in Tam Duong district, held in the third lunar month every year to pray for a year of favorable weather, good weather, prosperity, happiness and peace for every family. This is also an occasion for people to reunite with their families, villages and tourists.
In the Ceremony section: there will be a reenactment of the Harvest Prayer Ceremony, Rain Prayer Ceremony, Xoe Dance on the stream bank and a Water Splashing Ceremony; The Festival section includes activities: Cultural exchange, stream fishing competition, raft racing and rafting experience on the stream, culinary competition, bamboo basket weaving competition, organizing folk games (throwing shuttlecock, catching feet, blindfolded gong beating, walking on a balance bridge...) imbued with the identity of the Lao people.
The shaman performs a Buddha statue washing ceremony with the wish to purify and wash away all the dirt and pray for the newest and cleanest things for the new year.
Coming to the festival, people and tourists have the opportunity to participate in splashing water on Nam Mu stream to pray for good luck and experience other activities at the festival such as: art performances, cuisine prepared by Lao people, to better understand the unique cultural beauty of Lao people in Na Tam commune.
Locals and tourists join Nam Mu stream to participate in the Water Festival
In addition to the mentioned festivals, if you come to Lai Chau in January, you can also participate in other festivals such as: Xoe Chieng (Tan Uyen and Than Uyen districts), Loc Xuan, Boat Racing (Phong Tho district), Gau Tao Cha (Lai Chau city); in February, there are festivals: Xen Ban, Xen Muong (Tan Uyen and Than Uyen districts), Khen Mong (Nam Nhun district), Ga Ma Khu Gia (Phong Tho district) and if you come in March, there will be festivals: Village Worship (Nam Nhun district), Hau Doong, Dong Xia (Lai Chau city), Forest Worship (Tam Duong district)...
Hau Doong Festival of the Giay people, Lai Chau city is held twice a year on the 3rd of March and the 6th of June of the lunar calendar.
There are still many interesting things at the spring festivals in Lai Chau waiting for you to discover. So do not hesitate, book yourself a package tour with your relatives and friends to return to this land, surely you will love the bustling atmosphere of the Spring Festival at the border of the Fatherland!
Thai Trung
Source: https://svhttdl.laichau.gov.vn/van-hoa-gia-dinh/phong-tuc-tap-quan-le-hoi/mua-xuan-moi-ban-ve-lai-chau-vui-hoi-2.html
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