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VIETNAM FESTIVAL AND EVENTS
January |
February
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March |
April |
May |
June/July |
August
September |
October |
November |
December
The festivals and
events are calendared in Lunar month. Normally, a lunar month stay
later than western month of around 30 days.
AUGUST
HONCHEN TEMPLE FESTIVAL
The Hon
Chen Temple
Festival is organized twice every year in the 3rd and the 7th
lunar months. The festival takes place at the Hon Chen temple, 10
km west of Hue. It starts with a procession referred to as the God
Welcoming ceremony, said to bring all the worshipped Gods from the
village temples and shrines to the communal house where various
rituals are performed, including the procession in honor of Saint
Mother Thien Y A Na. The procession takes place at night on the
Perfume River, which shines with a myriad of lights. The
procession involves a long line of boats bound together into
bigger rafts.
The Hon Chen Temple Festival includes a performance filled with
imperial characters. Actors dressed in clothes with splendid
turbans and tunics look like princes and princesses of the Nguyen
dynasty. These shows take place in the natural settings of
mountains, hills, and rivers. This
Antique Museum of Nature shows flags, fans, hammocks, umbrellas,
weapons, and offerings.
Other
months
SEPTEMBER
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
For a long time, Vietnam and some
other Asian
countries who follow the rite of worshipping the Moon Genie,
welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar
month. This is the time when the moon is full, the farm
work is at rest, and the weather is cool and fresh. Apart from the
Lunar New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most impressive
event for the Vietnamese, particularly the children. There is no
other event in the year other than this festival that provides
them with as much entertainment, toys, cakes, candies, and fruit.
About half a month before the event,
various kinds of colorful items, mostly cakes, candies and toys,
are displayed for sale along the streets, in the shops and at the
markets. Everyone, both domestic and foreign, is eager to go
either shopping or sight-seeing. On the festive day, some families
cook outstanding food to offer their ancestors during the daytime.
In the evening, the mid-autumn festive party is prepared with
cakes, candies and fruits. Cakes are various, but a "must" is the
banh deo (glutinous-rice
dumplings) and banh nuong (cakes) in the shape of the moon and
fish. Fruit , including longans, simmons, bananas, grapefruits,
etc., are also abundant and diverse.
The Festival is exceptionally
interesting for the children who play happily with the bright new
toys. The toys are made from various different forms: the lion
lead, the animal in folk tales and stories. The lanterns are
colorful and of various kinds, such as the rabbit, the carp, etc.
Besides traditional carton paper toys, plastic and bamboo plates,
ships, tanks, etc. made of plastics with batteries and having
remote controls are also on sale. This is understandable due to
the economic improvements of the people. Whether organized in the
city or countryside, the preserved tradition of the
Mid-Autumn Festival is reflected in the way the children play
games such as seek-and-hide, lion dancing, lantern marching, etc.
The welcome-the-moon party in the
evening is a good opportunity for the children not only to enjoy
the food, but also to learn more from their grandparents and
parents. They are told how to prepare the party in the most
attractive way. To decorate the party, there is always a "doctor"
made of paper or dough, which reminds the children of the high
achievements to be obtained in their studies. The time to start
enjoying the party is solemnly shared by the whole family and
becomes the most sacred moment of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the
bright moonlight, clear sky and fresh environment, everybody is
relaxed with a pure and detached joy.
Lion dances are also thought to
ensure good fortune. Accompanied by gongs and bells, a man in a
huge lion mask is followed by a train of children who carry a long
cloth tail. This dance is based on a legend about an old woman who
was caught by a lion on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. She
asked the lion to allow her to attend the evening's festivities,
promised to return the next day and accepted her fate. The lion
agreed and the woman joined her neighbors in celebration. Come
morning, she remembered her predicament and began to cry, at which
time the gods intervened and sent a magical snake to save her. The
dance is a recreation of the fight between the snake and the
gullible hon.
Starting Dates in Western Calendar 2005
Sept 18, 2006 Oct 6, 2007 Sept 25, 2008 Sept 14.
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