HÀ NỘI — A special programme celebrating the 71st anniversary of the country’s National Day on September 2, will be held in Hà Nội’s Đồng Mô area, from September 1 to September 30.

Entitled The Happy Month of the Festival of Independence, the event, planned in the Village of Culture and Tourism of Vietnamese Nationalities, is organised by the managing board of the village with the participation of many village patriarchs, artisans, and village heads of Việt Nam’s various ethnic minorities like Mông, Thái or Khmer.

The cultural event will create a typical cultural atmosphere of ethnic peoples residing in the north-western and north-eastern area of the country, the highlight of which is the atmosphere of the market in the northwest with the theme ‘Sơn La kermis happily welcomes the festival’.

The space in the market will demonstrate the festival of going to the market, while the space for recreation will include traditional singings, dancing, games, food and sports which are performed by the Mông, Dao, Thái, Mường or Khơ Mú ethnic peoples. The specialties of each area including brocade, fruits or spices in the northern province of Sơn La, will also be exhibited in the market by the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Coming from remote villages in the northern provinces of Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Tuyên Quang, Lạng Sơn and Ba Vì District, the ethnic people will interact with visitors, instructing them on how to make traditional handicraft and play traditional games.

Also, within the framework of the festival, traditional customs and rituals will make an appearance again, including the worshipping ceremony of ancestors by the Mông people on September 2, village worshipping ceremony of the Thái people on September 3, and the programme Meal of Solidarity on the same day. All of these traditional rituals and customs demonstrate human aspirations for a better future and comfortable lives.

On the occasion, a musical performance praising the country and celebrating the national festival will also be jointly held by Sơn La Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Management board of Village of Culture and Tourism of Vietnamese Nationalities and various ethnic peoples like the Thái in the central province of Nghệ An, the Tày in the northern province of Thái Nguyên, or the Mường in the northern province of Hòa Bình. — VNS