A festival to distribute food was held on the evening of March 1 at Tran Thuong Temple in Nhan Dao Commune, Ly Nhan District, of the northern province of Ha Nam.
People receive food at the festival
The event was attended by Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.
The festival is one of the biggest events for the Lunar New Year in the province. It aims to commemorate the time when General Tran Hung Dao established a granary for the Tran dynasty’s army, at the current location of Tran Thuong Temple, during the fight against Mongolian invaders.
During the festival, around 150,000 food parcels were prepared for hand out to visitors. Each parcel contained red beans, green beans, corn, soy beans, and sticky rice - key staples produced by Ly Nhan residents.
On the same day, the traditional seal-opening ceremony was held at Tran Temple Complex, Loc Vuong Ward, Nam Dinh City.
A ritual at the seal-opening ceremony at Tran Temple Complex in Nam Dinh City
The ceremony re-enacted a tradition dating back to the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), when mandarins took out their seal-stamps after the Tet (lunar New Year) holiday to mark the officially resumption of administrative activities.
The event aims to pray for peace, prosperity, favourable weather, and happiness for the nation.
In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Giay ethnic minority people in Quang Kim Commune, Bat Xat District, Lao Cai province joined a ploughing competition, aiming to pray for favourable weather and a bumper crop.
The ploughing competition
On the occasion, Minh The Festival (the festival honouring not-corruption pledges) in Kien Thuy District, Hai Phong City was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage.
At the Minh The Festival in Hai Phong City