'Wrestling Festival'

(CLO) On February 4th, Cao Xa commune (Lam Thao district, Phu Tho province) held a ceremony to receive the National Intangible Cultural Heritage designation for the "Vinh Mo Temple Wrestling Festival" and inaugurated the 2025 Wrestling Festival. This is not only a traditional festival but also a symbol of the martial spirit, patriotism, and indomitable will of the people of Phu Tho.

At the ceremony, leaders of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, presented the certificate recognizing the Vĩnh Mộ Village Wrestling Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage to the Party Committee, government and people of Cao Xá commune, Lâm Thao district, Phú Thọ province.

Leaders of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, presented the certificate recognizing the wrestling festival at Vinh Mo communal house as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage to the leaders of Cao Xa commune, Lam Thao district.

Vinh Mo Temple, part of the Vinh Mo Temple and Pagoda complex (Cao Xa commune, Lam Thao district), was recognized as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic site in 1998. The temple is dedicated to the local guardian deity Nguyen Van Ky, a renowned general during the Hung Dynasty who helped King Hung defeat invaders and save the country; he also helped settle people, establish villages, and cultivate land to create Vinh Te village, now Cao Xa commune.

The communal house is associated with the Wrestling Festival - a unique traditional festival of the ancestral land region, which is held annually on the 7th day of the first lunar month.

A unique feature of the Vĩnh Mộ Village Wrestling Festival, compared to other wrestling festivals nationwide, is the addition of the custom of "chasing the prize." This custom originates from the practice of chasing enemy soldiers out of the village. After the final wrestling match, the winning wrestler must climb a flagpole, grab the prize, and then run headlong out of the village. The villagers chase after him until the winner jumps into the water, at which point the villagers stop chasing. The wrestling festival concludes after the prize chase is complete.

Wrestling pairs compete at the 2025 Đình Vĩnh Mộ Wrestling Festival.

The wrestling festival at Dinh Vinh Mo communal house in Cao Xa commune is a unique folk cultural tradition, showcasing the martial spirit, praising love for the homeland and country, and the villagers' determination to repel foreign invaders. Furthermore, the festival is considered by the local people as a New Year's ritual to ward off all the misfortunes of the old year from the village, welcoming good fortune to every household and every person in the new year.

Immediately following the welcoming ceremony for the 2025 Dinh Vinh Mo Wrestling Festival, a competition took place between 10 pairs of wrestlers, attracting enthusiastic attention and cheers from a large number of locals and tourists from all over.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phu-tho-co-them-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-le-hoi-vat-duoi-giai-dinh-vinh-mo-post332981.html