Tet (Lunar New Year) is the biggest and most sacred festival of the year, marking the transition between the old year and the new year.
It is not only a time for family reunions, Tet also carries profound spiritual significance, a time when people turn to their ancestors and deities, praying for a peaceful new year, favourable weather, and national prosperity.
Traditionally, activities to welcome Tet begin on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the previous year and last until the 7th day of the 1st lunar month of the following year, with many customs and rituals.
During the monarchical era, with the emperor as the "Son of Heaven," the court organised many New Year's rituals with the hope of favourable weather, prosperity, and happiness for all people.
These rituals were considered the soul of ancient court life.
Based on ancient documents, the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre has restored and recreated many rituals.
Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha emphasised: Thang Long Imperial Citadel - a World Cultural Heritage Site - is not only a place preserving the brilliant imprints of the nation's history, but also the soul of the thousand-year-old capital city of civilisation.
The reenactment of traditional court rituals demonstrates Ha Noi's strong determination in preserving and promoting the typical cultural values of the nation, while promoting the image of Ha Noi as a "Civilised, Identity-Creative" capital city.
To celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Horse, on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre recreated typical rituals including: the Kitchen God worship ceremony, the Calendar Offering ceremony, the pole-raising ceremony (erecting the New Year's pole), and the changing of the guard ceremony. All rituals were performed based on ancient documents, with idea contribution from many experts.
Through the reenactment of the "Farewell to the Old, Welcome to the New" ceremony, the public not only learned about the Calendar Offering ceremony – the ritual of presenting calendars to the King, distributing calendars to the court and the people, the pole-raising ceremony with its image of warding off evil spirits and welcoming spring, the ritual of releasing carp to send the Kitchen Gods to heaven, or the strict changing of the guard ceremony within the Forbidden City, but also clearly felt the cultural spirit, beliefs, and ceremonial order of ancient Vietnamese feudal society.
The restoration and presentation of traditional rituals within the Thang Long Imperial Citadel not only contributes to the preservation and promotion of national cultural heritage values, but also helps the public, especially the younger generation, better understand their origins and the spiritual values forged over thousands of years of history.
Through this, the Lunar New Year is not just a festival, but a living heritage, continuing to be preserved and spread in contemporary life.
