Erecting the Tet pole at Thang Long Imperial Citadel

Phong an or phat thuc is the ancient kings' ritual of wrapping up the seal, symbolizing the cessation of work to celebrate Tet. Tien lich is the ritual of presenting the new year calendar to the king, and the king gives the calendar to the people, using it as the basis for implementing the harvest and other ceremonies.

Raising the pole is a traditional custom of the Vietnamese people during the Lunar New Year. At the same time, this is also an important ritual of the royal court. During the monarchy, the king himself, or a high-ranking official was assigned this task, the custom usually took place on the 23rd of December. After a period of research, the Thang Long- Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center cooperated with the Thang Long Cultural Heritage Association to successfully restore this ritual.

The pole after being erected at Doan Mon.

The bamboo chosen to erect the pole is a male bamboo, with all branches cut off, leaving only the top and leaves. A long flag is hung on the top of the tree. On the top is a small circle, with clay bells or mascots hung so that when the wind blows, they will hit each other and make a jingling sound in the wind, with the meaning of warding off evil spirits, wishing for a happy spring, a peaceful year, favorable weather, and good crops.

After the rituals of worshiping heaven and earth, the pole is erected in an excited atmosphere, signaling the coming of a new year.

Before that, at Kinh Thien Palace, part of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Organizing Committee held a ceremony to worship the Kitchen Gods. After completing the ritual to worship the Kitchen Gods, the ceremonial group and the celebrant took the carp to the ancient river, discovered during the archaeological excavation in the Imperial Citadel, to release them.

Carp procession before release.

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, this year's Tet celebrations at Thang Long Imperial Citadel have been simplified. The main activity is the 2022 Vietnamese Tet program with the theme "Advancing the calendar to welcome spring" in online form.

To serve the online exhibition, the Organizing Committee has combined filming, introducing images and staging so that visitors can feel the most vivid and realistic way. This activity helps the public understand more about the old Tet, and have more forms of sightseeing and entertainment during the Tet holiday. The website address for the online exhibition is www.hoangthanhthanglong.vn and www.trungbayonline.hoangthanhthanglong.vn.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dung-cay-neu-don-tet-o-hoang-thanh-thang-long-post683340.html