The Trần Temple Festival is organised annually from the 13th-17th day of the first lunar month. Photo baophapluat.vn

THÁI BÌNH — The Trần Temple Festival, one of the most anticipated spring festivals in northern Việt Nam, will be held between February 3-7 at the national historical complex of the Trần King's shrines and tombs in Hưng Hà District of the northern province of Thái Bình.

According to Trương Thị Hồng Hạnh, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thái Bình Province and member of the organisation board, the Trần Temple Festival 2023 aims to affirm the values of the cultural heritage of Trần Dynasty (1226-1400) in the province and pay tribute to the ancestors in the cause of national construction and defence.

The festival harmoniously combines tradition and modernity, showing the unique culture of the land and people of Thái Bình while creating a joyful and vibrant atmosphere on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, she noted.

The festival begins with an incense-offering rite at the kings' tombs and a ritual for the opening of the gates of the temples, the ceremony of offering two Vietnamese biggest mooncakes at the temple of the Trần Kings and a calligraphy performance of King Trần Nhân Tông’s two verses.

It is followed by a ‘water procession', in which about 1,000 people will carry nine ornate palanquins with memorial plaques of the Kings of the Trần Dynasty and members of their royal families.

The event also features many folk games imbued with cultural identities of the nation, such as a rice cooking contest, pháo đất (clay fire-cracker) contest, traditional martial arts tournament, tug of war, along with a photo exhibition, art performances and Vietnamese Poetry Day.

The highlight of the opening ceremony on February 3 is Hào Khí Đông A (Đông A Spirit) art programme.

According to the programme's general director Mai Thanh Tùng, the programme is elaborately choreographed. It consists of two parts, the first includes songs praising the land, the Party and President Hồ Chí Minh, and the second includes those about Tết (Lunar New Year), spring and the nation. Artists of Thái Bình Chèo Art Troupe will participate in the programme.

In particular, in the opening ceremony, representatives of Thái Bình Provincial People's Committee and Vietnam Record Organisation will present the creator of Vietnamese two biggest mooncakes, Bảo Hưng International Joint Stock Company, with national record recognition.

Each of the cakes, weighing about 200kg, will be placed on wheeled wooden shelves. Inspired by the cultural beauties of the Vietnamese people, they have been selected by the organisation board of the Trần Temple Festival as offerings to Trần Kings from February 3-5. 

Đông A Spirit art programme is also expected to be held annually at upcoming festivals.

The Trần Temple Festival was recognised as a national intangible heritage in 2014, while the historical complex of the Trần Kings’ shrines and tombs received special national relic status in 2015.

The festival is part of the activities of the locality to preserve and promote the unique cultural values of national heritages.

In the history of feudal dynasties of Việt Nam, the Trần Dynasty was known as a powerful dynasty with outstanding achievements in socio-economic development.

The dynasty repelled the Yuan-Mongols three times, making it one of the greatest periods in Vietnamese history. 

Thái Bình is considered the birthplace of the Trần Kings, while the northern province of Nam Định was their first residential area. The festival is also held at the Trần Temple complex in the neighbouring Nam Định Province during the first lunar month every year. VNS