Festivals in the first month of the lunar new year

In Vietnamese folk culture, people often say ‘Thang gieng la thang an choi (The first lunar month is the month to play and enjoy the festive time).
Therefore, this month, everywhere around the country is animated with diverse traditional cultural festivities typical of a nation for a long time living in a civilization of water rice, Vietnamese people believe that when spring comes, the leisure of the harvest time also comes.
So people long ago chose the first days of the year to gather with family, worship their ancestors and the gods of heaven and earth and go on a pilgrimage to the pagodas to pray for happiness, prosperity and luck for the whole year.
Traditional festivals bloom during this most beautiful season of the year, giving Vietnamese the chance to return to the tradition and giving expats a chance to understand more about the culture and people.
* Huong Pagoda Festival
Last Friday, the Huong Pagoda Festival opened in Hanoi’s outskirt district of My Duc, attracting around 16,000 Buddhist pilgrims and tourists.
The Huong Pagoda Festival is considered the biggest and longest annual festival in Vietnam that lasts through three spring months and welcomes more than one million pilgrims and tourists each year. Nearly 200 high-quality boats have been added to the fleet of more than 4,000 boats to serve tourists during this year’s festival. While drifting on the river, tourists can enjoy traditional music shows.
The event also features exhibitions of Buddhist antiques and fine arts at the compound of the Thien Tru Pagoda as activities to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
Especially, a Buddhist Culture Week and a ceremony to float flower garlands and colored lanterns on the Yen Stream will be held during the festival. The festival runs until the end of March.
* Dong Tien Festival in Tuyen Quang
On Monday, in the warm atmosphere of spring, authorities and locals in Ham Yen District in northern Tuyen Quang Province opened the Dong Tien Festival with a hope for a better new year.
From 7 a.m., the roads to Dong Tien (Fairy Cave), a national landscape, were crowded with people wanting to explore the mysteries of the cave and the magnificence of the mountain, listen to folklore about fairies and join folk games. Visitors also had a chance to enjoy many ethnic artistic performances and experience indigenous specialties.
* Boat race festivals in Phu yen and Phan Thiet
Over the weekend, thousands of people flocked to O Loan Lagoon in Tuy An District and to Da Rang River in Tuy Hoa City in Phu Yen Province to join boat races with the participation of over 1,000 athletes with 31 boat teams. The festival not only brought visitors a joyful atmosphere but also presented the custom of praying for a good harvest for fishermen.
Last week, about 10,000 locals and tourists also gathered along the Ca Ty River for the traditional boat race in Phan Thiet City, shouting and cheering for 300 athletes who are local fishermen. The river, inherently silent and romantic, was animated with the shrieks of visitors, the Vietnam News Agency reports.
* Dong Da and Soc Temple festivals in Hanoi
The culturally rich capital boasts over 100 festivals. The Dong Da Festival on the fifth day of the first lunar month (February 18) commemorates the battle of Emperor Quang Trung against invaders of the Qing dynasty. The Co Loa Festival from the sixth to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month (from February 19 to March 1) at Co Loa Commune in Dong Anh District commemorates King An Duong Vuong who came to the throne in 257 BC.
The Soc Temple Festival on the seventh day of the first lunar month (February 20) commemorates Thanh Giong, one of the four immortal gods of Vietnamese folk culture. Trieu Khuc Village in Tan Trieu Commune in Thanh Tri District, well-known for its flat palm hat with strings, embroidery and weaving, holds its festival from the tenth to the twelfth day of the first lunar month (February 23 to 25) to commemorate national hero Phung Hung and honor the art of weaving.
* Lim Festival in Bac Ninh
The province has the Lim Festival, a famous folk music festival, from the 11th to the 13th day of the first lunar month.
* Gau Tao and Long Tong festivals in Lao Cai
This highland province has the Gau Tao Festival of the H’Mong ethnic people from the 3rd to the 5th day of the first lunar month, the Long Tong Festival of the Tay people in the rice fields near their village on the 5th or 15th day of the first lunar month, and the dancing festival of the Red Dao ethnic people on the first and second days of the new year.