On the morning of February 4 (December 25), many villages in Gio An held a ceremony to raise a pole to signal the coming of Tet, praying for the villagers' safety and to dispel bad things.
The pole praying for peace for villagers in An Nha - Photo: Hoang Tao
At dawn, many elders and villagers of An Nha village gathered at the communal house to perform the flag-raising ceremony. In the minds of the An Nha people, the flag-raising ceremony is an important and indispensable ritual to signal the end of the lunar year and the arrival of spring. Therefore, the elders wore traditional long dresses and turbans, and the young people dressed neatly to help with the flag-raising ceremony.
Several days before the ceremony, the elders go around the village to choose the biggest, strongest, straightest, unbroken bamboo tree to be used as the pole. A day before the ceremony, young men cut down the chosen bamboo tree and bring it to Long Phuoc Pagoda near the village communal house.
Long Phuoc Pagoda was later restored by the people of An Nha. Legend has it that when Lord Nguyen Hoang passed away, in memory of his merits, the people of An Nha village built a temple to worship him. Later lords and kings of the Nguyen Dynasty knew about this and issued a decree to change the temple to Long Phuoc Pagoda.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Xuan, head of An Nha village, said that the procession of the pole from Long Phuoc pagoda to the village communal house represents the continuation of tradition and gratitude of the people of An Nha village to the founder of the land. "We hope that the pole procession will be like a source that flows forever from our ancestors to our descendants, as a way of showing gratitude to our ancestors. Raising the pole will drive away bad things, praying for the villagers to have a prosperous new year, good health, and favorable weather," Mr. Xuan confided.
An Nha is located in the west of Gio Linh district, with a charming landscape. An Nha communal house is located on a beautiful hillside, with a banyan tree and a well in front of the communal house. In front of the communal house is a vast green field of watercress.
In addition to An Nha, on this day, many other villages in Gio An commune also have the custom of erecting a pole, such as Tan Van, Gia Binh, Long Son, Hao Son, and An Huong. The pole erection ceremony is organized with all the steps but is brief. After Tet, on the 7th of January, all villages hold the pole lowering ceremony.
Hoang Tao
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