Bustling spring festivals

Right after the Lunar New Year, a variety of traditional festivals take place in numerous districts and towns throughout the city, creating a vibrant atmosphere to welcome the arrival of spring. These festivals are organized elaborately and increasingly professionally, attracting a large number of both domestic and international tourists. This not only provides enjoyment for visitors but also serves to showcase and promote the rich traditional culture of the Vietnamese people to friends around the world.

The organisers of the Tuy Loan village communal house festival performing the traditional incense offering ceremony. Photo: S.T

After celebrating Tet in his hometown of Thua Thien Hue Province, Mr. Do Huu Ca (40 years old, Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District) returned to Da Nang with his family. He shared about the tradition that his family has maintained during their years living in Da Nang: participating in festival activities at the beginning of the new lunar year. One festival that Mr. Ca particularly enjoys and frequently attends is the Tuy Loan village communal house festival. This festival is held in the namesake ancient village in Hoa Phong Commune, Hoa Vang District that is over 500 years old.

Renewing and improving the professionalism of festivals has been a topic of interest to the city’s departments and localities in recent times. According to the Centre for Culture, Information and Sports of Hoa Vang District, this year’s Tuy Loan village communal house festival continues to be organised solemnly and sacredly with two separate parts: ceremony and festival. The festival-goers will have the opportunity to experience various culinary stalls and try their hand at making special dishes such as rice paper and Tuy Loan Quang noodles.

In Son Tra District, the ‘Cau Ngu’ (Fish Worshipping) Festival, held in the third lunar month every year, is the beauty of the traditional culture of the coastal area of ​​Son Tra. The event always attracts a large number of people and tourists.

Artisan Cao Van Minh, 60, who is residing in Nai Hien Dong Ward, Son Tra District, has made significant contributions to the overall success of the Cau Ngu Festival in the district. He shared that as the city has developed and the population has grown, the scale of the festival has also been expanded. This growth has increased the importance of cultural promotion for local residents, immigrants, and tourists. Consequently, the festival commander must have a new vision to encourage community participation and must have a deep understanding of the coastal culture to properly carry out the spiritual rituals.

Mrs. Mai Thuy Thuy Trang, Head of the Office of Culture and Information of Lien Chieu District, informed that spring festivals held at the beginning of the new lunar year in the district always attract a large number of people and tourists to visit and enjoy. These activities contribute to increasing solidarity and attachment between workers from other provinces and the district where they live and work. This year, the first festival held right after Tet in Lien Chieu District is the Nam O Ong Lang Festival, a sacred belief of the local people that has been passed down through many generations for 200 years.

For Mrs. Do Thi Ngoc,46, residing in Hai Chau District, after celebrating the Lunar New Year in her hometown in the North, she and her family returned to Da Nang to participate in the Nam O Ong Lang Festival. “I feel that the festival is increasingly organized solemnly and respectfully, creating a reverent atmosphere that blends tradition with modernity, making them very appealing,” said Mrs. Ngoc.

DA NANG Today