Tet Trung Nguyen

Tet Trung Nguyen, Wandering Souls Day, the Vietnamese version of the Hungry Ghost Festival is called is also called xa toi vong nhan, which means "forgive the lost souls". This is one of Vietnam's most popular festivals, and the second largest of the year.

The Vietnamese believe that after a person dies, his soul is put on trial. If he is found to have led an evil life, his soul goes to the underworld. But on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, these spirits are granted time off to wander through the upper world. They visit their former homes and relatives in search of food, or if they don't have any family, they just roam and hope.

On this day, families make offerings and pray to Lord Buddha in the hope of clearing any false charges which have resulted in an undeserved punishment among the dead, and for the peaceful repose of their souls. The offerings are placed in temples and household altars, and among the roots of banyan trees, which are revered in Vietnam.

Grand buffet tables are spread in the open air, laden with meats, rice, desserts and other delicacies. These feasts are meant not only for their own relatives, but for any wandering soul who happens by. Votive papers and incense are burned as a purification of the dead souls. Whatever food is leftover is given to the poor.

Festival in June (2) - in Hue, Ninh Thuan, Tra Vinh

Traditional festivals in Thua Thien - Hue province: 
Co Bi Village Festival
Time: 23rd day of the fifth lunar month
Location: Co Bi Village, Phong Son Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien-Hue Province.
Objects of worship: God of the opening rice paddies.
Activities: Procession of worship-conferring diploma from Dinh Shrine to the communal house, chess playing, cock fighting.

Traditional festivals in Ninh Thuan province: 
Cau Dao Festival of the Cham
Time: The 18th day of the fifth lunar month or when the drought menaced.
Location: Poklong Garai and Po Rome Towers, Ninh Thuan Province.
Objects of worship: Agriculture Genie.
Activities: The sorcerer and local people go to tower to worship the Agriculture Genie praying for rain and pray gods for good crops. White buffalo is used as the offering to sacrifice to the god.

Traditional festivals in Tra Vinh province: 
My Long Sea Worshipping Festival
Time: From 10th day to the 12th day of the fifth lunar month.
Location: Ba Chua Xu Temple, My Long Town, Cau Ngang District, Tra Vinh Province.
Objects of worship: Ba Chua Xu (the local goddess), Ca Ong (whale).
Activities: The festival of the fishermen in the southern coastal areas. The festival includes rites: welcoming the Lord Whale, procession of Ba Chua Xu, sacrifice to the Agriculture genie. Games: bag jumping (jumping in the bag), tug-of-war, fish catching.

Festival in June (2) - in Hanoi, Hung Yen province

Traditional festivals in Hung Yen province: 
Thanh Sam Festival
Time: The 2nd day of the fifth lunar month.
Location: Kim Dong District, Hung Yen Province.
Objects of worship: Tutelary god Huong Thien, Dao Quang (the reign of Hung Due Vuong), who had merit of fighting Thuc troop.
Activities: The festival recalls the embodied day of tutelary god.

Traditional festivals in Ha Noi city:
Van Khe Communal House Festival
Time: From the 17th to the 18th day of the fifth lunar month.
Location: Nghia Huong Commune, Quoc Oai District, Ha Tay Province.
Objects of worship: Two village's tutelary gods, sons of Lac Long Quan and Au Co.
Activities: Water procession, wrestling, chess playing, to tom diem playing, cheo performance.
 
Vinh Ninh Communal House Festival
Time: 13th day of the fifth lunar month.
Location: Vinh Quynh Commune, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi.
Objects of worship: Nang Tia, general of Hai Ba Trung.
Activities: Worshipping ancestor, traditional procession of god, mock battle performance.

Festival in June (1) - in Vinh Phuc Province

Bo Sao Village Festival

 Time: From the 15th to the 16th day of the fifth lunar month.
Place: Bo Sao Commune, Vinh Tuong District, Vinh Phuc Province.

Objects of worship: Dong Hai Dai Vuong.
Characteristics: Game of farming performance: villagers play in role of ploughman, raking people, rice seeds sowing people… Every year, the Bo Sao Village Festival is held to encourage good crops for local farms.
According to the lunar calendar, it is scheduled for the 15th and 16th of the fifth lunar month. This means that it will happen on June 26th and 27th on the Western calendar. Vietnamese explains that the festival is characterised by a series of performances and games all related to farming. The website notes that locals will dress up and act out various farming activities, such as ploughing, sowing seeds and raking the fields. It all forms part of a procession which takes rice seeds to the Duong Temple. Once at the holy building, they are placed on a tray and blessed, before being taken away to be planted. Anyone who makes the journey to the Bo Sao village will be able to observe the participants in this ceremony as it makes its way through the streets. According to figures from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Vietnam produces some 27.6 million tonnes of rice on an annual basis.

Cuu Ap Village Festival

Time: The 10th day of the fifth lunar month.
Place: Lien Chau Commune, Yen Lac District, Vinh Phuc Province.
Objects of worship: Tam Giang Dai Vuong Tho Lenh.
Characteristics: Custom of vying for silk-worms while racing boat: the racing boats start from Chai Communal House to Xuan Vien Village in the other bank of the river then vying for silk-worms for good luck.

It is a celebration dedicated to the silk worm and sees villagers racing to receive the creatures, which are seen as symbol of good luck. Locals take to the river for the race, which begins at the Chai Communal House and ends at Xuan Vien Village.Those competing will challenge for the top spot by racing across the river, with the hope of winning silk worms when they reach the other side.Vietnam's silk industry is still important to the country, with silk weaving, embroidery and painting all carried out by people around the nation. In some parts of the country, silk dying is still carried out by hand, despite the increasing mechanisation of the industry.According to Asia-Art.net, silk painting in Vietnam rose to popularity because artists believe it is "a unique way to create mystique and a charming sense of the mystique in their paintings".

Giong Festival, Hanoi

The Giong Festival is held annually in Phu Dong village, Gia Lam district, Hanoi, on the 9th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar. The date commemorates Saint Giong who defeated An invaders. In order to show their gratitude to the hero of Giong Village, who sacrificed his life to fight the invaders, people have proclaimed him Saint Giong. Preparation for the festival occurs from the 1st day of the 3rd month to the 5th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar. The festival is celebrated from the 6th to 12th of the fourth lunar month with a series of processions, rituals and performances, each taking place on a particular day. On the 6th, there is a ceremony of carrying water from the well at the Mother Temple to the Upper Temple. On the 7th, flags are carried to the Mother Temple. On the same day offerings of boiled rice and salted egg-plants are also carried to the Upper Temple, a practice that commemorates the agricultural meals of early times. Another vestige of ancient times occurs at night on this day when young men and women run after one another on the dyke of the Red River. Also on the 7th day, a water puppet performance is held in front of the Phu Dong Temple. On the 8th day, 28 women are selected to represent the generals of the An invaders. The main day of the festival is the 9th of the fourth lunar month. On this day flags are carried from the Mother Temple to the Upper Temple and sacrifices are made to the genie. The guilds perform ritual dances and songs and there is a tiger catching show. Fighting against the Yin invaders is re-enacted and there is a solemn march of the Van Lang army. Finally, the two battles against the invaders at Dong Dam and Soi Bia are symbolised by flag dances and victorious feasts. On the 10th day the "troops" are reviewed and the invader-generals, after "being defeated", give offerings to Giong. On the 11th, the ceremony of cleaning and washing weapons with holy water takes place. On the 12th, a procession goes to inspect the battlefield. On this day of the festival, tribute is given to the gods of heaven and earth. At the Giong Festival, people can make connections with their neighborhood, with relations between the individuals within a community, and with the past and present. This festival blends together the traditions of love for the motherland and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Truong Yen Festival

Time: From the 9th to the 11th day of the third lunar month, the main festival day is on the 10th day of the third lunar month.
Objects of worship: King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh.
Place: Truong Yen Commune, Hoa Lu District, NinhBinhProvince.
Characteristics: The procession of water, Chinese character forming.
The two most solemn rituals of the festival are the water procession and sacrifices - offering ceremony.
The sacrifices - offering ceremonies take place at midnight in Dinh and Le temples at the same time. The funeral oration is divided into nine parts praising the contributions of the two kings. It is expressed in a lively tru (a traditional type of singing) melody. As soon as it finishes, the boat carrying water arrives. Pilgrims take turns in presenting incense sticks to pay tribute to the kings and visit ancient sculptural and architectural items
Visitors can participate in many folk games, cultural, tourist and sports activities such as wrestling, boat racing, swings, chau van (a traditional type of music) singing, poem critique, poem writing, Chinese character forming, stick dancing, dragon dancing, unicorn dancing, or human chess.
The most special about the Truong Yen Festival is a game called " maneuver game with reed flag", which replays the childhood of Dinh Bo Linh as a buffalo boy in Truong Yen.

Coming to the festival is an opportunity for visitors to visit the ancient capital of the Dinh and Le courts, which mark the glorious period of unifying and establishing the country after suffering more than a thousand years under Northern Domination.
Source:(Vietnam National Administration Of Tourism)

Thay Pagoda Festival

Time:From the 5th to the 7th day of the third lunar month, main festival day on the 7th day of the third lunar month.
Place: Thay Pagoda (Thien Phuc tu), Sai Son Commune, Quoc Oai District, Ha Noi Capital. Objects of worship: Buddhist monk Tu Dao Hanh - founding father of the water puppetry in Vietnam.
Characteristics: The procession of the worshipping tablet, water puppetry and so on.
Tu Dao Hanh was a Buddhist monk in the Ly Dynasty. He had outstanding merits regarding the popularization of the religion, the treatment of diseases for people and the creation of many games original to Vietnam, including water puppetry. The Thay Pagoda Festival is held on the seventh day of the third lunar month in remembrance of his merits.

Several days prior to the festival, Buddhist followers and pilgrims far and near flock to the pagoda, further adding to the boisterous atmosphere of the festival. The Pagoda is cleaned and incenses, candles lit, bringing about a charming scene.
The statue bathing ritual takes place before the opening of the festival. Buddhist monks and the people participate in the ritual. Pieces of red cloth are used to clean the statues. Those standing around solemnly hold their hands in front of their chests, whispering Buddhist sutras. When the ritual ends, the used water, the holy water the Buddha bestows, will be scattered all over the pagoda in a wish for bumper crops and prosperous life. The cloths are also torn into smaller pieces to divide among the people as they are thought to have the power of warding off the evils. The rite of cleaning objects of worship comes after this statue bathing ritual.
The procession of Tu Dao Hanh’s worshipping tablet takes place on the 7th day of the third lunar month, with the participation of four villages Thuy Khue, Da Phuc, Sai Khe and Khanh Tan. Covering under a yellow cloth, the colour of the outfits worn by those having supernatural powers, the tablet is carried by four representatives from the four villages mentioned above. Each village carries its own tutelary god’s tablet. Noteworthy is that in the procession the tablet and white horse of Da Phuc must go ahead those of the Thuy Khue. Normally the procession comes to the pagoda at twilight.
At the pagoda the ritual of presenting offerings to Buddha is held in a solemn manner to the accompaniment of musical instruments. The offerings in various kinds and different colours are out into the altar, looking impressive in the smoke of incenses and candles. Wearing fine outfits, holding sticks to which are decorated with flowers, Buddhist monks chant Buddhist sutras while dancing to display the journey of mankind in striving for noble things.

Among fascinating games in Thay Pagoda Festival, water puppetry stands out. It is performed at the Thuy Dinh House in Long Tri pond in front of the pagoda. Tu Dao Hanh is said to be the founder of this artistic performance.

Going to Thay Pagoda Festival pilgrims have an opportunity to revere the relics imbued with the imprints of outstanding monks and men of the past.
Source:(Vietnam National Administration Of Tourism)