| Description |
The Lang Suong Temple Festival is held at Lang Suong Temple, Trung Nghia Commune, Thanh Thuy District, Phu Tho Province; on the birthday of Duc Thanh Tan, January 15. In addition to the main festival, the Lang Suong Temple Festival is also held on the death anniversary of the Holy Mother on October 25 (lunar calendar).
On the morning of January 15, the hamlets carry the offerings to the temple and gather into a procession of the commune, marching from the temple to the Da River with the purpose of taking Da River water to perform the ceremony and welcoming the adoptive mother of Thanh Tan from Ba Vi to attend the birthday party of the Saint. The community organizes a unique "water procession" ceremony with hem customs such as kite flying, abstaining from calling "hanh". They also organize the Saint procession, the army running game, the cow sacrifice ceremony in the form of a folk performance. The performance process here is both a performance of the legend of Tan Vien such as the Saint procession, the army running game, the cow sacrifice ceremony... and carries the meaning of agricultural beliefs such as the "water procession" to the temple.
The offerings to the gods include raw pork, grilled beef, wild chicken, sticky rice, boiled liver, grilled meat, stewed meatballs, and bamboo-tube rice, reminiscent of the simple cooking methods of the Van Lang - Au Lac people. During the festival, there is a phenomenon of looking at "the wind blowing the flags" to recognize that the saints and gods have "returned" to the community.
In addition, there are many cultural and artistic activities, folk entertainment games such as: Tug of war, volleyball, crossbow shooting, cockfighting, fire pulling and rice cooking competitions, throwing balls...
Lang Suong Temple Festival is an affirmation and continuation of the preservation and promotion of the role of the cultural hero - Duc Thanh Tan Vien Son - formed in the early period of Vietnamese culture and civilization. With its unique spiritual values, Lang Suong Temple Festival was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2018. |
