Go to Hoang Hoa to see the spring festival

People participate in the Ky Phuc Festival in Quy Chu village.

Coming to Quy Chu village (Hoang Quy commune) in the early days of spring, people will be immersed in the traditional cultural space of the Vietnamese people through the Ky Phuc Festival. The festival is held from the 6th to the 8th of the second lunar month at Dinh Trung relic with many rituals and festivals linked together to create a unique cultural feature of this land.

The festival is held with traditional rituals such as: palanquin procession, female and male mandarin sacrifices to express respect to the gods. The participants in the ceremony must be selected by the village elders according to the criteria of being healthy, having no family funerals or sadness, and having successful and obedient children in the family. The traditional rituals of the festival are held throughout the 3 days and are interspersed with traditional games and performances.

Many unique folk games have been associated with the festival and are maintained by the people, such as the water carrying and rice and fish-winning contests. Water carrying is the first part of the festival in Quy Chu village. Villagers are divided into competing teams by village, wearing traditional costumes with four-panel shirts, turbans, shoulder poles and water pots. For the rice and fish-winning contest, participants will row the boat, catch fish and cook rice. The games demonstrate the men's talent in rowing and pulling the net on the river, and the women's ability in housework, dexterity and resourcefulness when carrying water and cooking rice on the boat. The games take place amid the cheers and encouragement of the people, creating community cohesion.

Mr. Le Dinh Bien, head of Tay Phuc village, head of Quy Chu village said: "Quy Chu village consists of 3 villages Tay Phuc, Trung Tien, Dong Nam. On the festival day, people from 3 villages gather at Dinh Trung to participate in traditional activities. On the festival day, children in the village have to carry water from the village well to cook rice to worship the village's tutelary god. Therefore, people always maintain two games: carrying water and rice, and competing in fish and rice with the desire to show respect to their ancestors and gods".

Dang Thi Thu Huong, a cultural and social official of Hoang Quy commune, said: "The Ky Phuc Festival of Quy Chu village is a cultural beauty of the commune, attracting a large number of local people and visitors from all over the country to participate. The festival is an indispensable spiritual "food" for local people, a bond that connects village and neighborhood relationships, contributing to preserving and promoting intangible cultural values, meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the people in the commune and visitors from all over the country."

In Hoang Truong commune, every February of the lunar calendar, local people eagerly participate in the Cau Ngu Festival, a typical festival of coastal fishermen. The festival prays for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather and smooth fishing, and bountiful harvests. This is also an opportunity for people to commemorate the merits of their ancestors who founded the village and built the profession. The highlight of the festival is the Long Chau procession. The Long Chau procession includes a group of people carrying the Long Chau, a five-tone orchestra, and a group of people carrying the ceremonial flag, all blending together to create a vibrant festival atmosphere. The Long Chau procession always attracts the participation of a large number of people from coastal communes of Hoang Hoa district. Because for coastal people, this is an opportunity for them to thank the sea for giving their families prosperity and well-being and to pray for a year of favorable weather and prosperity.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoang Truong Commune, Le Thanh Canh said: "Along with traditional rituals, the festival often features cultural activities, arts, games, and traditional performances such as boat racing, tug of war, blindfolded duck catching, cockfighting, etc. The Cau Ngu Festival of Hoang Truong Commune has become a cultural beauty of the coastal people. Through the festival, the cultural life, customs, and beliefs of the coastal people of Thanh Hoa are expressed in a unique way."

Mentioning Hoang Hoa is mentioning a treasure trove of festivals with 32 traditional festivals typical of each land and each community. That diversity is expressed uniformly in the cultural space of Thanh land and the beliefs of the Vietnamese people. Moreover, the festivals all express the people's wishes for a year of favorable weather, good crops, peace, prosperity and happiness for all people; it is an occasion for people to express their respect and gratitude to those who have contributed to the country and their ancestors.

To promote the value of festivals, Hoang Hoa district and localities have actively promoted festival regulations; promoted the role of people in practicing and promoting festival values. The organization of festivals is carried out by localities, festival organizing committees, and relic management boards to ensure safety and civilization in order to attract a large number of people and tourists to participate.

Article and photos: Thuy Linh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ve-hoang-hoa-xem-hoi-ngay-xuan-243994.htm