"The glue that binds the community together"

With many ethnic groups living together, the culture of the people of Thanh Hoa province is likened to a vibrant garden of colorful flowers. Every Lunar New Year, these colors become even more radiant and fresh thanks to the organization of rich and unique traditional folk games. This not only contributes to the preservation and promotion of the nation's precious cultural heritage but also creates a "glue" that binds the community together.

Tung is also a game often played by the Thai ethnic group (Thuong Xuan) at the beginning of the new year.

Over many generations, through the process of labor, production, and spiritual life, folk games of the ethnic groups in the province have gradually formed and been preserved and promoted by the people to this day. While the Thai and Muong ethnic groups have games like throwing the ball, archery, the "to ma le" game, and the swing; the Mong ethnic group has the "nem pao" game; the Kinh ethnic group has games like rice cooking competitions, pot smashing, chess, and human chess... To this day, these games are still regularly organized by the people, especially during the Lunar New Year or traditional festivals. This creates a joyful and lively atmosphere, providing relaxation for the people after days of hard work.

In the early days of the new year, traveling through the villages of the Thai ethnic minority in Thuong Xuan district, we can easily encounter or participate in folk games with the locals. For them, Tet (Lunar New Year) is an opportunity for people to gather and participate in folk games, creating a joyful and lively atmosphere and strengthening solidarity. To organize games, the villagers usually choose spacious open fields or sports fields at the village cultural center. Ms. Vi Thi Mai, from Yen Nhan commune (Thuong Xuan), said: "Folk games and performances have been deeply ingrained in our consciousness and have been a part of our lives since childhood. Therefore, during Tet, the local government often organizes folk games, among which the Ferris wheel is one of the adventurous games but attracts a large number of participants; therefore, it is a game that cannot be absent during Tet. In addition, games such as stick pushing and crossbow shooting, which were traditionally for men, are now also played very skillfully by women." The game of tossing the ball, on the other hand, requires skill, endurance, perseverance, and agility from the players. This game attracts people of all ages, genders, and children alike, as the toss of the ball carries the people's wishes for a peaceful and lucky new year.

Spring is also the season of festivals, and if we say that festivals embody the cultural identity of a local community, then folk games are the highlight of those festivals. Therefore, from the mountains to the plains and coastal areas, everywhere is vibrant with the colors of festivals and traditional folk games. These folk games are organized not only for entertainment and laughter during the early days of spring but also as unique tourism products to attract visitors to the locality. Therefore, starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Dragon), many localities have organized traditional folk games in their festivals. A typical example is the traditional boat racing festival in Nga Bach commune (Nga Son district) in the spring of 2024, held on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Participating teams from 7 villages in the commune will select 20 of the strongest and most skillful rowers. The race course is the Sung River, with the starting and finishing point being Hau Temple (Bach Dang village). The races were lively and exciting, attracting enthusiastic participation and cheering from a large number of locals and tourists.

During the spring season, the re-organization of folk games creates a vibrant, lively, and joyful atmosphere. It's also an opportunity to introduce and promote the unique traditional culture of the locality. Therefore, to ensure the preservation and development of folk games, many localities and levels of government in the province need to pay more attention to regularly integrating and organizing folk games into local festivals and events.

Text and photos: Nguyen Dat

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/chat-keo-gan-ket-cong-dong/207334.htm