Low-range fireworks will be set off at the opening ceremony of the Tran Temple Festival in Tien Duc commune, Hung Ha District, Thai Binh Province on February 20.
A procession at the 2014 Tran Temple festival
The opening ceremony will feature incense offering at the Tran Kings’ tombs, the gate opening rituals at Den Thanh (Thanh Temple), Den Mau (Mother Temple) and the Tran Kings’ shrines, and a palanquin procession.
A 60-minute performance recounting an epic titled ‘Forever Shining Dynasty’ will also be staged at the opening.
Visitors to the five-day event can learn more about local traditional practices, such as a fish cooking contest, a rice cooking challenge, and clay firecrackers.
The festival is held annually from the thirteenth to the eighteenth days of the first lunar month at the national historical complex of the Tran Kings’ shrines and tombs to pay tribute to the Tran Dynasty (1225-1440) in the country’s history of construction and defence, promoting national traditions, patriotism and revolution among people.
The festival was recognised as a national intangible heritage in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The historical complex of the Tran Kings’ shrines and tombs was acknowledged as a special national cultural relic, according to a decision signed by the Prime Minister last year.