Traditional festival of Yen Tu communal house, Moc Bac commune

On December 2 (October 20th of the lunar calendar), Yen Binh village, Moc Bac commune (Duy Tien town) solemnly held the Yen Tu communal house traditional festival and the Yen Tu temple's Mother Goddess installation ceremony. Many officials, people from villages in and outside the commune, visitors from all over the country and people from far away attended.

Yen Tu communal house traditional festival — **Saint's Ceremony at Yen Tu Traditional Festival.**

According to Chinese documents at the communal house and local traditions, the communal house worships Pho Hue Thuong Si Dai Vuong - the person who helped King Ly Nhan Tong fight the enemy, save the country, and keep the border peaceful. In the year Binh Thin 1076, he and King Ly Thuong Kiet defeated the Song army on the Nhu Nguyet River, and was rewarded by the king, appointed as the Right Minister of Rites. He also helped people reclaim land, build villages and live according to the traditional customs of his homeland. He is worshiped at both the communal house and Yen Tu temple.

According to the survey at the relic and Han Nom sources, the village temple worships Princess Nguyet Hoa - the second concubine of the 18th Hung King. Legend has it that she petitioned the king to lead troops to fight the enemy. The king sent Tri Cong to bring 100,000 soldiers to join her in forming an army to defeat the Thuc army. Upon her return, she petitioned the king to exempt taxes for the people of Yen Tu village (now Yen Binh). At the end of her life, she returned to Yen Tu to live and died here.

In gratitude for her merit, the local people built a temple to worship her. Through the feudal dynasties, she was conferred the title of Duc Vuong Ba. In 1999, Yen Tu Temple was ranked by the State and granted a National Historical and Cultural Relic Certificate.

The temple has been restored and embellished many times. Recently, once again, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has allowed the temple to be restored and embellished. Yen Binh village has been calling on the villagers, people far from home, and kind-hearted individuals to return to their homeland to contribute their efforts and money to the restoration.

Some performances to celebrate the festival.

The annual traditional festival of Yen Tu communal house is an opportunity for cadres and people in the village to report to the village's tutelary god about the achievements of the year and also an opportunity for people from all over the country to turn to their roots, together promote the traditions of their homeland, unite, make efforts to participate in socio -economic development, and contribute to building an increasingly rich and civilized homeland.

Previously, on the evening of December 1 (October 19), Yen Binh village organized a cultural exchange night with villages in the commune and Yen Lac village, Moc Nam commune to celebrate the festival.

Tran Quyet

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