Festivals jubilantly celebrated nationwide to greet spring

The Soc Temple Festival kicked off at Soc Temple in Phu Linh Commune, Soc Son District, Hanoi, on February 30, the sixth day of the first lunar month.

A procession at Soc Temple Festival (Photo: VOV)
A procession at Soc Temple Festival (Photo: VOV)

From early in the morning, people from eight hamlets and villages joined a procession to Soc Temple and offered incense at the Thuong (Upper) and Ha (Lower) temples.

The three-day event features many cultural activities and folk games, such as wrestling, stilt walking, a rice cooking contest, and blindfolded pot smashing.

The festival is held annually to commemorate Saint Giong, one of the nation’s mythical folk heroes, who led the country to victory against the Yin invaders.

This year’s event is expected to welcome around 120,000 festival-goers.

Also, yesterday morning, locals in Hanoi’s outskirt district of Dong Anh joyfully attended the Co Loa Festival, which is dedicated to King An Duong Vuong who founded the ancient Vietnamese state of Au Lac.

In addition to a palanquin procession and an incense offering ceremony, festival goers partook in various sporting activities and folk games including ‘con’ (cloth ball) throwing, swinging, water puppetry performances, a cooking contest and cock fighting.

In Bac Giang Province, the Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee held a ceremony to mark the 593rd anniversary of Xuong Giang Victory, attracting thousands of visitors and local residents.

The Xuong Giang Victory site in Xuong Giang City was recognised as a national special relic in December 2019.