| Description |
The Chèm Communal House Festival is held to commemorate the merits of Saint Chèm (Ly Ong Trong), a talented general in the BC era who defeated the invaders and saved the country, and is considered by the people as the Thanh Hoang.
The festival takes place annually from the 14th to the 16th of May (Lunar calendar) at Chèm Communal House. People from three sister villages: Chèm, Hoàng Xá and Hoàng Liên join in organizing the festival with many solemn rituals: the procession, bathing, releasing animals, etc. The highlight is the water procession: three dragon boats from the three villages row out to the middle of the Red River to scoop up river water and pour it into jars, performing three turns before swimming back to shore. Some activities took place enthusiastically such as: making sweet soup, swimming, wrestling, playing human chess, playing cards, etc.
The Chèm communal house festival is a unique traditional festival closely associated with the history of the nation, very typical of popular cultural activities among the rice farmers of the Red River Delta. |
