Thousands of visitors across the country flocked to the opening ceremony of the 2015 Phu Day Festival at Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh Province on April 21 (the third day of the third lunar month).
The festival is one of the country’s largest and features many traditional rituals including an incense offering ceremony at the main (Tien Huong) temple, recitals of Buddhist scriptures, the palanquin procession at Van Cat temple and the torchlight procession at Tien Huong temple.
A wide variety of cultural activities and traditional folk games such as lion and dragon dancing, playing underwater, human chess, wrestling and a tug-of-war competition are also to be staged during the six-day festival.
The highlight of the festival is a Chau Van (spiritual) singing contest, which aims to preserve and promote the value of the national intangible cultural heritage.
The Phu Day festival is held annually at the Phu Day historical and cultural relic site in Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district to honour Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh, one of the four immortals in Vietnamese folklore. It reflects the local people’s desire for a better life.