Summary of extremely hot spring festivals to explore

“January is the month of fun and entertainment”, so from the South to the North, everywhere is bustling with festivals. In the brilliant weather of the first days of the year, it would be great to both enjoy the spring scenery and explore the unique regional culture through bustling festivals, right? Vietnam is so beautiful, my friend!

The land where every step you take contains a rich culture, history and legends that are worth remembering and worshiping. Therefore, when going on the right occasion of a festival event, not only will your eyes be treated to a grand setting, but your mind will also be opened to more understanding of your origins. This spring, let MoMo be your “guide” to take you to extremely meaningful cultural festivals across the S-shaped strip of land!

1. Huong Pagoda Festival – My Duc, Hanoi

Huong Pagoda (also known as Trong Pagoda) is located in Huong Tich Cave, part of the Huong Pagoda scenic complex, Huong Son District, My Duc, Hanoi. The festival here takes place from January to March of the lunar calendar every year, with the official opening day starting on the 6th of January. Held in the spring atmosphere filled with the green of the land of “linh son phuc dai”, the Huong Pagoda festival is considered a synthesis of the Northern religious culture, and at the same time a fusion of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.

The Huong Pagoda festival is one of the largest religious festivals in the North in early spring. (Photo: cattour.vn)

Originating from the legend of Princess Dieu Thien (commonly known as Lord Ba) who attained enlightenment and became a Buddha to save the world, Huong Tich cave is considered a holy land, a spiritual refuge for many people who pray for peace and luck. Therefore, every spring, not only Buddhist groups but also tourists from all over the world come here to offer incense, worship and sincerely pray for good luck for the whole year. Not only that, the Huong Pagoda Festival is also a place where many games and folk cultural competitions are held to remind us of our origins, such as boat racing, Cheo singing, mountain climbing, Chau Van singing, etc. You must definitely come here to enjoy the magical scenery and witness the sacred festivals imbued with national traditions!

2. Lim Festival – Bac Ninh

Taking place right in Kinh Bac region from the 12th to the 14th of the first lunar month every year, of which the 13th is the main festival with solemn offerings. Going to the festival on this occasion, you will witness with your own eyes a cultural space imbued with the traditional, neat and elegant character of the Kinh Bac people. From the elaborate costumes of the seven-three-fold ao mo, the three-tall conical hat, the quai thao, the oak silk bib, the six-sung umbrellas, the turban, etc., along with the melodious Quan Ho folk songs with smooth rhythms, etc., all of which exude the proud breath of national traditions.

Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs were recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2010. (Photo: Thanh Ha – VNA)

The center of the Lim festival is Lim Pagoda – the place to worship Hieu Trung Hau, the originator of Quan Ho singing. Starting with a procession with people wearing colorful ancient costumes, the Lim festival will take place with successive rituals of the procession, worshiping the tutelary god, offering incense and folk games such as martial arts, wrestling, chess, swinging, weaving, cooking,… and certainly cannot lack the most special part of singing the festival, responding with Quan Ho lyrics. And if you come to Bac Ninh, remember to visit Dong Ho painting village to admire this famous Northern painting craft village.

3. Ba Den Mountain Festival – Tay Ninh

Ba Den Mountain is located in Thanh Tan Commune, Hoa Thanh District, Tay Ninh City, a place associated with many sacred legends in Vietnamese beliefs. The Ba Mountain Spring Festival and the Ba Festival are the most typical religious activities on this mountain. The spring festival lasts from the 4th to the 16th of the lunar calendar and can take place until the end of January. At this time, men and women from all over, especially the Southern region, will flock to Ba Den Mountain to make pilgrimages, worship, and combine tourism and enjoy the majestic mountain scenery.

Ba Den Mountain is a famous sacred prayer destination in the South. (Photo: Internet)

Ba Den Mountain is famous for its sacredness in praying for family and business. Therefore, people often come here to pray for good luck, and offer trays of offerings if their wishes come true. During the spring festival, the 5th day of the first lunar month is the most bustling because of the “Trinh thap cung” ceremony, on this occasion, pilgrims offer to Ba offerings such as incense, lamps, fruits, wine, tea, cakes, etc. to show their respect. The following days are followed by activities of reading sutras, repenting, praying for the souls of the dead, and offering incense, praying for peace. To get to Ba Den temple, you can choose to climb or take the cable car to enjoy the scenery. This will definitely be a spiritual trip worth experiencing this spring!

4. Traditional boat racing festival – Lang Co, Hue

According to annual custom on the 6th day of Tet, An Cu Dong fishing village, Lang Co town will organize a traditional fishing ceremony and boat racing. This is a festival that has been associated with the villagers for a long time with the meaning of praying for favorable weather, national peace, and bountiful harvests. After the opening drum beat, the competing teams will depart and go through 3 jars