Festival of filial piety first: Children kneel down to express gratitude to their parents

The festival is touching with the ritual of children showing gratitude to their parents - Photo: Contributor

The third Hundred Good Deeds and Filial Piety Festival took place on April 3 (the 6th day of the 3rd lunar month) at Co Be Ngai Vang Temple (Mother Thuong Ngai Vang Temple) in Thanh Ha village, Nam Son commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi city .

For the past three years, the festival has been held on the occasion before the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day (March 10) and in the third lunar month - the Mother Goddess festival month of the Mother Goddess worship religion, which was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.

Festival for children to bow to show gratitude to their parents

The highlight of the festival is the ritual of gratitude to parents, following the filial example of the Holy Mother.

Accordingly, many people brought their parents to attend the festival and performed the ritual of kneeling before their parents to express their respect, love, and gratitude for their parents' upbringing.

This year, as in the two previous years, this was an emotional part for both the practitioners and the spectators. Parents got to hear their children speak from the heart, words they were usually afraid to express.

Daughters bow to show gratitude to their parents - Photo: Contributor

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh and Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, Soc Son, Hanoi, said they were very moved when they attended the Hundred Good Deeds Fulfillment Ceremony for the third time, especially when they heard their daughter express her filial piety at the festival.

They hope this festival will be widely spread so that the Mother Goddess religion will be passed down and filial piety will be preserved and respected.

In addition to the ritual of gratitude to parents, the festival also has cultural and artistic activities such as organizing a poetry composition contest to honor filial figures in Vietnamese history and performing songs about filial piety.

Regarding the reason for organizing this festival, Master Huyen Tich - the head of the Co Be Ngai Vang Temple - said that the Holy Mother is a model of filial piety, representing the good morality of the Vietnamese people for thousands of years.

Seeing the tears of happiness from fathers, mothers and children during the two previous festivals, he and his fellow mediums determined to organize the festival annually, so that many children have the opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents.

He hopes that this event will not only stop at the local scale, but will become a large festival, contributing to spreading moral and humane values ​​in modern society.

Shaman Huyen Tich gave the opening speech of the festival, hoping that the festival will expand into a good tradition of society - Photo: Contributor

Touching the wishes of many people

Present at the festival, Associate Professor of History Le Van Lan said he was very impressed to see that shaman Huyen Tich is the only person to date who has brought the connotation of filial piety into the connotation of the worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three and Four Palaces.

He said he could not find anywhere a temple that practices the Three and Four Palaces belief with the content of practicing filial piety like here.

“I hope the festival will not only be held at this temple, not only for 3 years, but will spread widely and sustainably to many Mother Goddess worshiping establishments,” said Mr. Lan.

Dr. Bui The Duc - former deputy head of the Central Propaganda Department - assessed this as a meaningful mark for the Mother Goddess religion, a source of pride for Vietnamese people who love national culture.

Associate Professor Dr. Dang Thu Thuy (Hanoi National University of Education) said that this was the first time she experienced a festival that was organized so meticulously and grandly to honor filial piety, a fine tradition of the nation.

She said that in the current social context, when value systems are disrupted and there are many problems, especially with the young generation, promoting filial piety like the Hundred Good Deeds Festival is meaningful.

“This festival represents a beautiful wish of Master Huyen Tich, touching the wishes of many people, many parents,” said Ms. Thuy.

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THUY HUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-hoi-bach-thien-hieu-vi-tien-con-cai-quy-xuong-noi-loi-tri-an-cha-me-20250403195000164.htm