The 2025 Song Mun Festival

On the morning of March 1st, the 2025 Song Mun Festival took place in Quang Duc commune, Hai Ha district, and the Decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the list of national intangible cultural heritage for the "Dao Thanh Y Coming-of-Age Ceremony" was announced.

Representatives from various localities in the province presented flowers to congratulate the festival.

The traditional Song Mun Festival is held at the beginning of the Lunar New Year in the villages of the Dao Thanh Y ethnic group in Hai Ha district. This year, the festival was held over two days, March 1st and 2nd, with many traditional rituals praying for peace and good fortune. This involved the villagers gathering, uniting, and contributing to the ceremony; the most respected person from each village representing the community to the village shrine to offer prayers for peace, good fortune, favorable weather, a bountiful harvest, and a harmonious and happy life.

The artisans participate in the hair-styling competition for young Dao Thanh Y women.

The festival features many attractive activities such as: a highland market, a folk art club festival, a Dao Thanh Y women's hair-styling competition, an ethnic cuisine competition, an ethnic costume show, a pandan leaf cake making competition, a leaf horn playing competition, singing duets, and bamboo pole dancing. Along with these are competitions in ethnic sports : stick pushing, women's tug-of-war for ethnic minorities, and games like walking on a bridge, blindfolded duck catching, and throwing the ball…

Many cultural performances showcasing the unique traditions of the Dao Thanh Y ethnic group were presented on stage.

This year's Song Mun Festival is linked to the ceremony recognizing the coming-of-age ritual of the Thanh Y Dao people as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. For a long time, the coming-of-age ceremony has been a unique social custom created, preserved, and promoted by the Thanh Y Dao people for many generations.

Representatives from localities possessing the social custom of the coming-of-age ceremony of the Thanh Y Dao people received the Decision recognizing it as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The coming-of-age ceremony, also known as the naming ceremony for Dao Thanh Y boys, is a ritual to register their names in the family tree, signifying their adulthood. This ceremony is highly valued and preserved by the entire community, showcasing the beauty and cultural values of the ethnic group, reflecting their spiritual beliefs, and promoting the unique cultural identity of the Dao Thanh Y people, contributing to the development of a progressive culture rich in national character. The coming-of-age ceremony of the Dao Thanh Y people in Quang Ninh province was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on December 10, 2024.

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