Dinh Noi Bridge Robbers

The Noi Communal House Bridge Robbing Festival is a unique folk festival held at Noi Communal House, Viet Lap Commune, Tan Yen District, Bac Giang Province (old) - the place that marked the Yen The Uprising and was ranked as a special national monument.

The festival is deeply rooted in the cultural identity of the agricultural communities of the Kinh Bac region, combining harvest prayers, folk art, and traditional sports. Vietnam.vn would like to present to readers a collection of photographs titled " The Đình Nội Bridge-Snatching Festival " by author Nguyenhuuthong168 . The photographs were taken at the Đình Nội village festival in Tân Yên commune, Bắc Ninh province. The author submitted this collection to the " Happy Vietnam 2025 " award.

The soldiers prepare their ceremonial attire in the temple.

The master of ceremonies, along with two teams of prayer bearers, performed the ritual inside the temple.

The ritual involves bringing the ball onto the field.

The wooden shuttlecock is made of jackfruit wood, round in shape, and painted red.

The hook is made from bamboo.

The competition has begun.

Cheerful but determined

The game atmosphere at the festival

A large crowd gathered to enjoy the game.

The festival takes place at the beginning of the year with many solemn rituals and attractive folk games. The offerings to the deity are meticulously prepared according to village customs, including jet-black pigs, phoenix-winged chickens, sticky rice cakes, and wrapped fruit trees – exquisitely crafted folk culinary creations showcasing the skill and creativity of the local people. The most distinctive highlight of the festival is the ball-grabbing game, a highly symbolic religious ritual. A red-painted jackfruit wood ball, symbolizing the sun and moon, is carried from the inner sanctuary to the temple courtyard in a solemn and lively atmosphere. Two teams of players – strong and virtuous young men – compete using hooks made of bamboo or bent iron, aiming to get the ball into their team's designated hole. The game not only demonstrates team spirit and collective strength but also carries the meaning of praying for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest.

We invite readers and photographers at home and abroad to continue sending photos and videos to participate in the "Happy Vietnam 2025" Award . The award is organized by The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists and Vietnam Television organized . Thereby, to continue to introduce and promote the image of the country, Vietnamese people, cultural and natural values ​​across the country; arouse national pride and aspirations for development in all classes of Vietnamese people to join hands to build Vietnam to be increasingly prosperous, prosperous and happy.

Deadline for receiving works: From May 22, 2025 to September 30, 2025. Entries are received online at : https://happy.vietnam.vn  

Eligible participants: Vietnamese citizens and foreigners aged 15 and above.

The award consists of two categories: Photo and Video.

Each contest category (photo and video) will have one First Prize worth 50,000,000 VND, two Second Prizes worth 30,000,000 VND, three Third Prizes worth 15,000,000 VND, 10 Consolation Prizes worth 5,000,000 VND, one Most Voted Work Prize worth 5,000,000 VND.

The Organizing Committee encourages and will award a creative prize in each category (photo and video) worth 20,000,000 VND for works with new ideas, creativity in content and form of expression.

In addition, the Organizing Committee will award monthly prizes including First, Second, and Third prizes to the highest voted works of the month in each category.

The judging panel selected the winners through two rounds of preliminary and final judging, conducted both online and in person.

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