The Đồng Kỵ firecracker procession festival took place in Bắc Ninh Province, attracting thousands of villagers and visitors. VNA/VNS Photos Thái Hùng

BẮC NINH The Đồng Kỵ firecracker procession festival has returned to Từ Sơn Town in the northern province of Bắc Ninh after two years of being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival opens a series of events that will last through the end of the second lunar month in the northern province and has attracted thousands of villagers and visitors.

According to the organisers, the best part of the thousand-year-old festival is the huge firecrackers procession on the fourth day of the first lunar month that fell on January 25.

The festival is associated with the myth of Saint Thiên Cương, who fought the Xích Quỷ invaders. It is organised annually in honour of Saint Thiên Cương’s glorious victory, who came from the Đồng Kỵ Village.

The two crackers used in the procession are made of wood and painted with gold lacquer. They are about six metres in length with a diameter of over one metre. The bodies of the crackers were carved with the images of a dragon, a kylin, a turtle and a phoenix, in the hopes of favourable weather.

The festival was recognised as one of 15 national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016.

Each cracker was decorated with a star-shaped and drum-shaped end, weighing nearly 1,000kg. In the procession, each cracker was alternately carried by around 100 young men from the traditional cultural house to the ground of the communal house.

It took the Đồng Kỵ villagers two months to prepare for the festival. Young, strong men were carefully selected for the giant firecracker procession.

Young, strong men were carefully selected for the giant firecracker procession.

The festival was recognised as one of 15 national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016.

Besides the cracker procession, the festival also features other folk games like wrestling, cock fighting and quan họ (love duet) singing.

The festival will end on January 28. VNS