People in Gio An erect New Year's poles to welcome the Lunar New Year.

On the morning of February 4th (the 25th day of the 12th lunar month), many villages in Gio An held a ceremony to erect a New Year's pole, signaling the arrival of Tet and spring, and praying for peace and safety for the villagers, and to ward off evil.

The ceremonial pole symbolizes the villagers' wish for peace and safety in An Nha - Photo: Hoang Tao

At dawn, a large number of elders and villagers from An Nha gathered at the village communal house to perform the pole-raising ceremony. In the minds of the people of An Nha, the pole-raising ceremony is a significant and indispensable ritual to signal the end of the lunar year and the arrival of a new spring. Therefore, the elderly wore traditional long robes and headscarves, while the young people dressed neatly to assist in the ceremony.

Several days before the ceremony, the village elders went throughout the village to select the largest, strongest, straightest, and most unbroken bamboo pole to use as the ceremonial pole. The day before the ceremony, the young men cut down the chosen bamboo pole and brought it to Long Phuoc Pagoda, located near the village communal house.

Long Phuoc Pagoda was later restored by the people of An Nha. Legend has it that when Lord Nguyen Hoang passed away, out of gratitude for his contributions, the villagers of An Nha built a shrine to him. Subsequent Nguyen dynasty lords and kings, knowing this story, issued decrees, transforming the shrine into Long Phuoc Pagoda.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Xuan, head of An Nha village, said that the procession of the ceremonial pole from Long Phuoc Pagoda to the village communal house symbolizes the continuation of tradition and gratitude to the pioneers of An Nha village. "We hope that this procession will be like a continuous stream flowing from our ancestors to future generations, a way of showing gratitude to our forefathers. Raising the pole wards off evil and we pray for a prosperous and healthy new year for the villagers, with favorable weather," Mr. Xuan explained.

An Nha is located in the western part of Gio Linh district and boasts picturesque scenery. The An Nha village communal house sits on a beautiful hillside, with a banyan tree and a well in front. In front of the communal house are endless fields of green watercress.

Besides An Nha, on this same day, many other villages in Gio An commune also have the custom of erecting the New Year's pole, including Tan Van, Gia Binh, Long Son, Hao Son, and An Huong. The pole-erecting ceremony is organized in a complete but concise manner. After Tet, on the 7th day of the first lunar month, all villages hold a ceremony to take down the pole.

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