The dragon dance is featured in the parade celebrating the Lantern Festival by the Hoa ethnic group in the Chợ Lớn area of HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

HCM CITY — A variety of rituals and cultural activities to celebrate the Lantern Festival will be held on the Chợ Lớn (Big Market) area in HCM City on March 1-3.

The event will kick off with a Welcoming Deity procession of 500 people, departing at 8am on March 1 from Nghĩa An Temple (or Ông Pagoda) in Chợ Lớn Ward and passing by temples in the area.

The procession will include offerings and kylin – lion – dragon dance performances.

A poetry reading event titled “Đêm Thơ Việt Nam” (A Night of Vietnamese Poetry) will be held on the same day to celebrate Việt Nam Poetry Day, featuring poetry clubs in the city.

The event will introduce new literary works that praise the country and reflect aspirations for development and integration in the new era of the nation’s rise.

The show will begin at 7:30 am at the An Đông Ward’s Public Administrative Service Centre at 105 Trần Hưng Đạo Street. It will be broadcast live on HCM City Television (HTV).

The major event of the festival will be a parade across the main streets of Chợ Lớn, held from 4:30pm to 6:30pm on March 3, or the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar.

The parade will attract around 1,200 artisans and people dressed as mythological characters or in traditional costumes, offering circus acts, traditional dances, and kylin – lion – dragon performances.

The parade will travel across the streets of Hải Thượng Lãn Ông, Châu Văn Liêm, Lão Tử, Lương Nhữ Học, Nguyễn Trãi and Trần Xuân Hòa, and finish at the An Đông Ward’s Public Administrative Service Centre.

The festival’s main ceremony offers traditional music and dance performances. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hương

The main ceremony will begin at 7pm at the centre, featuring Chinese folk music and dance performances, which will be aired live on HTV.

The night will also include a photo exhibition demonstrating the Lantern Festival in Chợ Lớn through the years, calligraphy demonstrations by local artisans, folk games and cuisine.

The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, celebrated by the Hoa ethnic group in Chợ Lớn, was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

The festival is also listed as one of the 19 annual typical cultural and art events and festivities of HCM City. — VNS