Cultural Events Calendar
February
Tet Nguyen Dan
(The Lunar New Year)
Tet has become so familiar, so sacred to the Vietnamese that when Spring arrives, Vietnamese people return to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of home.
Tet starts on the first day of the first lunar month and is the first season of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), and therefore it is also known as the Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning Fete of the First Day, or the Tet Tam Nguyen, literally meaning Fete of the Three Firsts. The Tet of the New Year is, above all, a fete of the family. This is an opportunity for the household genies to meet, those who have helped during the year, namely the craft creator, the land genie and the kitchen god. As legend has it, each year on December 23 of the lunar calendar, the kitchen god takes a ride on a carp to the Heavenly Palace to report on the affairs of the household on earth and then returns on December 30 to usher in Spring.
Tet is also an opportunity to welcome deceased ancestors back for a family reunion. Finally, Tet is a good opportunity for family members to meet. This custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet their loved ones.
Tet Khai Ha
Khai Ha is organized on the seventh day of the first lunar month when land owners offer their ancestors paper money and clothes and say farewell. A bamboo pole is lowered and a new year is welcomed. According to Vietnamese traditional beliefs, if the weather is warm and the sun is shining on Khai Ha, people will be healthy and fortunate all the year round.
Cau Ngu Festival
This traditional festival of lower Thai Duong village in the Huong Hai commune of Huong Dien district is organized annually on the 12th day of the first lunar month in memory of the village tutelary genie Truong Quy Cong. His alias is Truong Thieu, and he was a native of the North who came to the village to settle, teach the locals how to fish and trade junks. On the eve of the festival, the entire village begins making offerings. Both parts of the village worship to Truong Quy Cong. Late at night, the fish worshipping ceremony takes place, where people pray for peace and the future abundance of fish. Every three years, games representing sea fishing activities are organized, including fish catching and net-casting games. After these games, people watch the rowing skiffs.
Nui Ba Festival
If you go to Tay Ninh, visit the beautiful mountain, Nui Ba, located in the middle of the Mekong Delta. Nui Ba (Ba Mountain) is often called Ms. Den Mountain. According to legend, the mountain was named after a young woman called Denh. She was the daughter of a guard officer of the Mien ethnic minority group. Den, as she was commonly known, left her house to enter a monastery in the mountains to avoid family pressures to marry a guard officer\'s son. She remained at the monastery until she died. After her death, the Nguyen Dynasty ordered that a mould of her be cast in black bronze in her honour as the Linh Son Thanh Mau (Saint Linh Son). During the spring until the afternoon of the 30th day of the first lunar month, and especially on the day of the full moon of the first month, tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces visit and worship here. Tourists climb half way up the mountain to Saint Linh Son\'s communal house and then follow a path that lead to a pagoda, where travelers can enjoy a vegetarian meal. Visitors can eat as much as they like, but should make a donation to the pagoda.
Thien Hau Pagoda Festival
The Thien Hau Pagoda, located in Lai Thieu, is a cultural vestige of Binh Duong Province. The festival is organized annually from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. On the 13th, the population of Thu Dau Mot prepares tables placed in front of each house to worship and welcome Ba Thien Hau. People from neighboring provinces also come to Thu Dau Mot for the occasion. On the 14th is the Ba welcoming ceremony. A Ba palanquin is carried throughout the streets, with unicorn dances, lion dances, and many flags. On the 15th, people come to the Ba Pagoda to burn incense, pray and ask for the protection of the Mandarin to be safe and happy in the coming year. This is a folk festival honoring the unique culture of the southeast.
(The Lunar New Year)
Tet has become so familiar, so sacred to the Vietnamese that when Spring arrives, Vietnamese people return to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of home.
Tet starts on the first day of the first lunar month and is the first season of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), and therefore it is also known as the Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning Fete of the First Day, or the Tet Tam Nguyen, literally meaning Fete of the Three Firsts. The Tet of the New Year is, above all, a fete of the family. This is an opportunity for the household genies to meet, those who have helped during the year, namely the craft creator, the land genie and the kitchen god. As legend has it, each year on December 23 of the lunar calendar, the kitchen god takes a ride on a carp to the Heavenly Palace to report on the affairs of the household on earth and then returns on December 30 to usher in Spring.
Tet is also an opportunity to welcome deceased ancestors back for a family reunion. Finally, Tet is a good opportunity for family members to meet. This custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet their loved ones.
Tet Khai Ha
Khai Ha is organized on the seventh day of the first lunar month when land owners offer their ancestors paper money and clothes and say farewell. A bamboo pole is lowered and a new year is welcomed. According to Vietnamese traditional beliefs, if the weather is warm and the sun is shining on Khai Ha, people will be healthy and fortunate all the year round.
Cau Ngu Festival
This traditional festival of lower Thai Duong village in the Huong Hai commune of Huong Dien district is organized annually on the 12th day of the first lunar month in memory of the village tutelary genie Truong Quy Cong. His alias is Truong Thieu, and he was a native of the North who came to the village to settle, teach the locals how to fish and trade junks. On the eve of the festival, the entire village begins making offerings. Both parts of the village worship to Truong Quy Cong. Late at night, the fish worshipping ceremony takes place, where people pray for peace and the future abundance of fish. Every three years, games representing sea fishing activities are organized, including fish catching and net-casting games. After these games, people watch the rowing skiffs.
Nui Ba Festival
If you go to Tay Ninh, visit the beautiful mountain, Nui Ba, located in the middle of the Mekong Delta. Nui Ba (Ba Mountain) is often called Ms. Den Mountain. According to legend, the mountain was named after a young woman called Denh. She was the daughter of a guard officer of the Mien ethnic minority group. Den, as she was commonly known, left her house to enter a monastery in the mountains to avoid family pressures to marry a guard officer\'s son. She remained at the monastery until she died. After her death, the Nguyen Dynasty ordered that a mould of her be cast in black bronze in her honour as the Linh Son Thanh Mau (Saint Linh Son). During the spring until the afternoon of the 30th day of the first lunar month, and especially on the day of the full moon of the first month, tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces visit and worship here. Tourists climb half way up the mountain to Saint Linh Son\'s communal house and then follow a path that lead to a pagoda, where travelers can enjoy a vegetarian meal. Visitors can eat as much as they like, but should make a donation to the pagoda.
Thien Hau Pagoda Festival
The Thien Hau Pagoda, located in Lai Thieu, is a cultural vestige of Binh Duong Province. The festival is organized annually from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. On the 13th, the population of Thu Dau Mot prepares tables placed in front of each house to worship and welcome Ba Thien Hau. People from neighboring provinces also come to Thu Dau Mot for the occasion. On the 14th is the Ba welcoming ceremony. A Ba palanquin is carried throughout the streets, with unicorn dances, lion dances, and many flags. On the 15th, people come to the Ba Pagoda to burn incense, pray and ask for the protection of the Mandarin to be safe and happy in the coming year. This is a folk festival honoring the unique culture of the southeast.
For more information, please contact us at: (+ 84 83) 920 5102
