The beauty of folk games

In modern society, folk games still hold a certain place in cultural life.

Most folk games are wholesome entertainment, training the physical and intellectual abilities and dexterity of the players, and have a strong sense of community. To preserve the beauty of folk games, many cultural festivals today include lively and well-organized folk game segments, creating a distinctive feature that attracts the participation of a large number of local people and tourists. A prime example is the annual boat race held at the Ky Yen Festival at Binh Thuy and Binh My communal houses (Chau Phu district), which is always eagerly anticipated and enthusiastically participated in by people from within and outside the district.

Attending and cheering on the boat race at the Ky Yen Festival at Binh Thuy communal house, held from May 9th to 11th (lunar calendar), Mr. Phan Hoang Anh (resident of Long Xuyen City) said: “Every year I look forward to the boat race at the Ky Yen Festival at Binh Thuy communal house to go watch and cheer. I really enjoy the atmosphere of collective activities, especially folk games, which help to connect people together.” Along with the boat race, there are many other folk games preserved through festivals, such as: chess competitions to train thinking and concentration; cockfighting to encourage the development of livestock farming and express the martial spirit in folk traditions; tug-of-war to emphasize collective strength and solidarity; or games like smashing clay pots and blindfolded duck catching…

Besides games for adults, there are countless folk games for children, such as firecrackers, kite flying, hopscotch, jump rope... or games originating from simple, lively, and cheerful nursery rhymes that are incorporated into extracurricular activities for children and students and are still present today. Ms. Le Thi Thu Oanh (residing in Chau Phu district) shared: “I remember when I was little, in elementary school, summer days were the time when folk games reigned supreme. Back then, we kids played blindfolded tag, hide-and-seek, stick ball, hopscotch… Among them, kite flying was the most consistently maintained throughout the summer months. Every afternoon, the children in the neighborhood would gather on the rice field near their house to fly their kites soaring in the sky.” Notably, kite flying has now been elevated to an artistic activity during festivals and always attracts many participants. This shows that folk games still hold value and need to be preserved so that modern life can always retain the beauty of folk traditions and community bonds.

“With the development of social media, many online entertainments attract children, making it difficult for them to put down their phones, causing old games to be forgotten. My husband and I want our child to play healthy games to ‘separate’ him from his phone, so in the afternoons after work, we often take him kite flying, and in our free time, we teach him the ‘rules’ of some simple games. On weekends or holidays, we often take him back to our hometown, where he can play traditional folk games with his cousins of the same age,” shared Ms. Le Thu Trang (resident of Long Xuyen City).

MY LINH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/net-dep-tro-choi-dan-gian-a422358.html