Unique features of the Tran Temple Festival

For the past few decades, since the Tran Temple relic in Tien Duc commune (Hung Ha district) was restored, the traditional festival there has been maintained annually on a large scale, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from many provinces and cities to participate and respectfully pay tribute to the contributions of the Tran kings and ancestors. This is also an opportunity for visitors to learn about unique cultural and historical aspects of life that are not easily found anywhere else.

The tradition of carrying water in a procession at the Tran Temple festival in Thai Binh .

Traditional rituals

Although the opening ceremony of the Tran Temple Festival takes place on the evening of the 13th day of the first lunar month, every year, from early morning, thousands of tourists and local people flock to Tran Temple to respectfully offer incense and flowers to express gratitude for the contributions of the Tran kings and ancestors, and participate in rituals such as the opening ceremony of the temple, the incense offering ceremony at the tombs of the Tran kings, praying for national prosperity, peace and security, the eternal well-being of all families, peace in the country, and happiness and prosperity for the people.

Mr. Pham Van Cuong, Deputy Head of the Tran Temple Management Board, shared: The Tran kings built the Son Lang complex at Thai Duong Lang, now Tam Duong village, Tien Duc commune, as a burial place for their ancestors and former kings of the Tran dynasty. This includes the tomb (the old part) of Emperor Tran Thua, the Chieu Lang of King Tran Thai Tong, the Du Lang of King Tran Thanh Tong, the Duc Lang of King Tran Nhan Tong, and the tombs of four empresses. The incense offering ceremony is a ritual to invite the ancestors to attend the ceremony to express the gratitude of future generations.

Within the framework of the traditional festival, on the afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month, the water procession takes place, featuring both water and land parades, always evoking strong emotions in participants. In the 2024 festival, the water procession attracted 76 groups with over 2,000 participants. The image of the procession moving in long lines along the dike, with drums beating and flags fluttering everywhere, created a magnificent scene. This is not only a ritual to promote agriculture and fishing, praying for favorable weather and agricultural development, but also a way to express gratitude to the ancestors of the Tran dynasty, a dynasty that originated from fishing and was closely associated with rivers and waterways.

Folk competitions

Immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere of the spring festival at Tran Temple, visitors cannot miss the elaborate folk competitions showcasing the meticulous preparation and culinary artistry of the people of Tien Duc commune. To prepare the elaborate fish feast offered to the king, expressing the local people's devotion to the Tran kings and their traditional festival, the villages in Tien Duc commune spent months preparing, from selecting and catching the fish to processing them, ensuring that when the feast is complete, no fish is missing scales, and each fish is large, beautiful, and looks as if it's still swimming. Admiring the lavish fish feasts, meticulously arranged with dishes like pork sausage, meatballs, pork trotters, lotus seeds, minced pork rolls, betel leaves, and flower arrangements, few realize that the talented and skilled chefs of the festival are often the farmers and rice planters of the village.

Besides the fish-serving competition, this year's Tran Temple festival also features a banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cake) wrapping competition, showcasing the resourcefulness, skill, agility, and harmonious teamwork of women from each village in creating the largest and most beautiful cakes to offer to the king. The fire-making and rice-cooking competition aims to recreate the practical adaptability of our army and people during the resistance wars against foreign invaders, ensuring our army's unwavering victory and the protection of the country.

The fire-making and rice-cooking competition is held at the Tran Temple festival.

Furthermore, this year's Tran Temple Festival also features a betel leaf folding competition, firecracker competition, exchanges between traditional opera clubs, folk singing festival, calligraphy competition, wrestling competition, tug-of-war competition, and chess tournament. The lively competitions throughout the festival days create a vibrant and enthusiastic atmosphere among the people at the beginning of spring. At the same time, it serves as an invisible yet strong bond connecting the present generation with the unique cultural characteristics of their homeland and nation, fostering greater love, pride, and attachment to their traditions.

Numerous tourists flocked to Tran Temple during the traditional festival.

With its historical and cultural significance, in January 2014, the Tran Temple Festival in Thai Binh was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage; in December 2014, the Prime Minister signed a decision granting the mausoleum and temple complex of the Tran Dynasty kings a special national monument status. Harmoniously blending tradition and modernity, and showcasing the unique culture of Thai Binh's land and people, the five-day Tran Temple Festival not only meets the cultural and spiritual needs of the local people and visitors from all over, but also provides a favorable opportunity to promote the value of the festival and the cultural heritage of the Tran Dynasty, thereby educating present and future generations about patriotism, national pride, and self-respect.