Announcement of Hue Festival 2023 and reenactment of Nguyen Dynasty calendar distribution ceremony

Update: Jan 03, 2023

On the morning of January 1, at Ngo Mon Gate - Hue Imperial Citadel, the Provincial People's Committee organized the announcement of Hue Festival 2023 with the first activity being the re-enactment of the Nguyen Dynasty Ban calendar distribution ceremony.

Hue Festival 2023 will have many exciting activities associated with the 30th anniversary of the Hue Monuments Complex recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage

Attending the event were Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Nam Tien, Standing Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; Nguyen Thanh Binh, Standing Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee.

With the theme "Cultural heritage with integration and development", Hue Festival 2023 consists of more than 50 main activities and nearly 100 side activities, taking place continuously throughout the year according to the four seasons orientation: "Spring in the Ancient Capital", "The Imperial Citadel shines" in the summer, "Hue in autumn" and "Winter of Hue". Performing in the programs will be domestic and international art troupes, representing regional and national cultural identities. They will honor and promote the unique cultural features of the ancient capital with 7 heritages honored by UNESCO.

In particular, the important highlight is activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hue Monuments Complex being recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage, 20 years of Royal Court Music being recognized as the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and the week of Hue Traditional Craft Festival.

Hue Festival 2023 will continue to exploit existing forms of folk festivals, royal festivals, religious festivals, and traditional festivals. At the same time, it will gradually build new festival programs, in line with contemporary trends to meet the public's demand for enjoyment, and develop into festival tourism products.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Standing Vice Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh said that Hue Festival 2023 will continue to show the spirit of innovation and diversifying types of festival organization, promoting community participation. It aims to strengthen the socialization of the festival organization in Hue Festival, associate festival activities with tourism products, contribute to introducing the cultural quintessence of Hue, and create motivation to build Thua Thien Hue into a Centrally-governed municipaity based on preserving and promoting the value of the ancient capital heritage and Hue cultural identity in the spirit of Resolution 54 of the Politburo.

*On the morning of the same day, Hue Monuments Conservation Center re-enacted the Ban Soc Ceremony (Calendar Distribution Ceremony), opening the series of activities of Hue Festival 2023.

Ban Soc is the ancient calendar distribution ceremony of the Nguyen Dynasty, held periodically at the end of the lunar year. The agricultural economy was very important to the ancient Vietnamese, so the calendar had a very special meaning. They used the calendar to keep track of the time and weather for farming and for disaster response and prevention.

The calendar distribution ceremony was held on a large scale at the beginning of the Minh Mang Dynasty. Every year, after the Kham Thien Giam office finished preparing the calendar, the court held the Calendar distribution ceremony under the supervision of members of the Ministry of Ceremonies and Kham Thien Giam. The calendar was presented in the Royal Palace for use by the Royal Family, distributed to the mandarins in the Citadel and in localities, and distributed among the people for use.

This year, the Calendar distribution festival was re-enacted through the theatrical form at Ngo Mon Gate with ancient rituals and procedures... Re-enacting the ceremony is re-creating the human spirit of the ancients and is an opportunity for visitors and local people to experience the heritage of Hue Ancient Capital on New Year's Day.

The following are some pictures at the event captured by Thua Thien Hue Online: