Colorful Lantern Festival

Lion dance and celestial dog dance have become an indispensable part of the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is an opportunity for the people of Hoi An to showcase their community's cultural identity, as well as to preserve and pass on the unique cultural characteristics of the Vietnamese and Chinese communities. Community activities related to traditional rituals mainly take place from the 12th to the 18th, with the main ceremony on the 16th of the first lunar month.

During the Lantern Festival, the Hoai River is covered with floating lanterns.

For the Chinese community's association halls, the Lantern Festival is also a day to pay respects to the ancestors and an occasion for descendants of the community to gather annually.

Traditional rituals during the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is also considered the day of "Heavenly Officials bestowing blessings" - the day when heavenly officials bestow blessings upon all living beings on earth. Therefore, large numbers of people from all over the region gather at temples, shrines, and assembly halls such as the Guan Gong Temple, Fujian, Chaozhou, and Guangxi Zhuang temples to seek fortune and blessings.

The assembly halls were decorated to welcome visitors from all over.

Hoi An's Lantern Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023. However, since the 2010s, the Lantern Festival has become a unique traditional festival of Hoi An, attracting a large number of tourists.

Incense smoke billows from the assembly halls.

Perform the ritual.

The custom of praying for wealth, seeking blessings, and drawing lots is a traditional activity during the Lantern Festival in Hoi An.

A prayer.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/sac-mau-hoi-tet-nguyen-tieu-3148671.html