Through many changes of history and time, traditional festivals in localities in Ha Tinh still retain the beautiful spiritual cultural features of the countryside, serving as a bridge between the past and the present.
The traditional boat racing festival on the Minh River has become a festival for the people of Trung Luong and neighboring areas in Hong Linh town. Photo by Nam Giang .
Every New Year, people in Trung Luong Ward (Hong Linh Town) and neighboring areas eagerly await the traditional boat racing festival on Minh River. Held on the 3rd and 4th of January, coinciding with the New Year, when children from far away return home to celebrate Tet, the festival becomes even more exciting and meaningful.
According to legend, the boat racing festival has existed since ancient times, and is an occasion for local people to pray for good crops, for trees to sprout and grow; for people to have a prosperous and happy life. This is also an opportunity for everyone to exercise; to exchange and meet at the beginning of spring, and to give each other good wishes for the new year.
This year's festival is organized in 3 boat races with 15 participating teams including: Youth boat race (5 teams); Women's boat race (5 teams) and Boat race of residential groups (5 teams), attracting thousands of people to watch and cheer.
For the elderly like Mr. Tran Viet Vung, despite the many years that have passed, the village festival still retains its good traditional meanings.
Mr. Tran Viet Vung (95 years old, in Trung Hau residential group, Trung Luong ward) shared: “Since I was born, I have seen the boat racing festival organized by the villagers every year. Over the years, many generations, although the festival has had changes in organization, its meaning remains intact, becoming a beautiful traditional cultural feature, preserved and promoted by the villagers”.
Chan Tien Pagoda in Thinh Loc Commune (Loc Ha) is a place that preserves many cultural and historical values.
In Yen Diem village (now Yen Diem hamlet), Thinh Loc commune (Loc Ha), Chan Tien pagoda is famous as a sacred ancient pagoda, so its cultural, historical and spiritual values have been preserved, conserved and promoted by the local government and people for generations.
According to historical data, Chan Tien Pagoda was once a training base for the insurgents in the Can Vuong movement (from 1885 to 1896); a gathering place for scholars protesting against taxes in Central Vietnam (in 1908). The pagoda marked many important historical events such as: the place where the Yen Diem Party Cell was established (April 25, 1930); the place where the action plan against the imperialist war was discussed (July 29, 1930); the place where the Can Loc District Party Committee discussed the plan to support the October Revolution in Russia and to carry out a new struggle (November 5, 1930). In addition, this was also a place of refuge and temporary shelter for patriotic scholars and revolutionaries during the Party's early days...
Generations of local people have joined hands to preserve the cultural beauty and solemnity of Chan Tien Pagoda.
Although not held during the Lunar New Year, the Chan Tien Pagoda Festival has long attracted a large number of local people and tourists from all over the world. Every year on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month, people eagerly prepare incense, flowers, and offerings, and sincerely follow the procession to the pagoda to burn incense and worship.
Due to the impact of time and natural disasters, the pagoda has degraded and is being restored and renovated. Mr. Nguyen Khac Phong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thinh Loc commune said: "To preserve the heritage of the homeland, preserve the "village tradition", the Party Committee, the government and the local people are all responsible for preserving the cultural beauty left by our ancestors. In addition to the 35 billion VND sponsored by Vingroup, the people and children of the homeland also contributed their efforts and money to restore and build the pagoda's items, striving to complete the project on schedule to better serve the spiritual life of the people".
Temple of Che Thang Phu Nhan Nguyen Thi Bich Chau in Ky Ninh commune, Ky Anh town. Photo by Dinh Nhat .
With a history of 600 years, up to now, the festival of Che Thang Phu Nhan Nguyen Thi Bich Chau temple (Ky Ninh commune, Ky Anh town) still preserves the customs and traditional beauty of the locality.
Mr. Le Ba Khang - Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Temple of Che Thang Phu Nhan Nguyen Thi Bich Chau (Ba Hai Temple) said: “Every year, on the 11th and 12th of the second lunar month, in the warm weather, local people and visitors from all over come here to pay respect to the heroic women by commemorating the death anniversary of Che Thang Phu Nhan Nguyen Thi Bich Chau. The formal and solemn rituals have been preserved for generations, such as: carrying the tablet, beating the drum, offering incense, reading the funeral oration, the death anniversary ceremony, the offering of flowers, releasing flower lanterns, the chicken offering ceremony... The sincerity and spirituality of the worshipers have made the legend of Che Thang Phu Nhan even more beautiful and the death anniversary of the Holy Mother has become a sacred festival for the people of the coastal area”.
The Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi Festival is held annually by the people of Loc Ha and Thach Ha districts, becoming a local festival.
Ha Tinh currently has nearly 70 large and small festivals, notably: Do Dai festival (Dau Lieu ward, Hong Linh town); wrestling festival (Thuan Thien commune, Can Loc); Cau Ngu Nhuong Ban festival (Cam Nhuong commune, Cam Xuyen); Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi festival (Loc Ha district, Thach Ha); Vuc Rao fishing festival (Xuan Vien commune, Nghi Xuan)... are held annually and have become a beautiful feature in the cultural life, bearing the community character of the local people.
Although the villagers are busy with work all year round and caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life, every time the village festival comes around, they join hands to practice sacrificial rituals and actively participate in competitions and folk performances with pride and love for their homeland's culture.
Traditional festivals are not only a bridge between the past and the present, between spiritual life and daily life, but also contribute to strengthening the village relationship, and are a space to preserve the traditional cultural beauty of the villagers. Through many historical changes, the beauty of village culture in traditional festivals is truly a "treasure" in the midst of modern life. This is a resource to awaken the strength of the community, creating new values that contribute to building an increasingly prosperous and beautiful homeland.
Kieu Minh
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