The traditional festival to celebrate the 157th anniversary of the sacrifice of National Hero Nguyen Trung Truc (1868 - 2025) will take place over 3 days, from October 17 to 19 (February 26 to 28 of the lunar calendar).
Westerners are familiar with calling the festival by a familiar name, affectionately the death anniversary of Uncle Nguyen. No matter who is old, young, male or female, everyone wholeheartedly respects Mr. Nguyen.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Be, a resident of An Giang province, shared: "Every year I go to the festival early to do public duties, helping to take care of Uncle Nguyen's death anniversary. The people thanked the hero for the people and the country. Everyone respectfully shows gratitude, contributes a little effort, and takes care of the death anniversary of the Great Expectative".
Mr. Tran Van Long, a resident from Can Tho, confided: I come to the ceremony not only to visit Uncle Nguyen but also to join hands to help with the festival work so that people from all over here do not have to worry.
All visitors have free meals, sleeper arrangements, and adequate medical supplies, all of which are free. We think that even though people are not the only ones, they come here to take care of the entire death anniversary of Uncle Nguyen like their children in the family.
According to Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of An Giang province - Le Thi Pha Ca, this year, the Department will preside over and coordinate with relevant departments, branches and localities to advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue a plan to organize the celebration.
The festival has 2 parts: the ceremony and the festival, the ceremony with traditional rituals. In particular, at 8:00 p.m. on October 17, an art program will take place to open the festival in front of the Monument to Heroes, Martyrs and Meritorious People in the Northwest Sea Encrowned Urban Area, Rach Gia Ward. The program is broadcast live on a number of stations in the Mekong Delta.
The festival will feature many cultural, artistic and sports activities; displaying and introducing commercial products and OCOP products of the province; fairs; lion - monk - dragon performances; flower festivals to celebrate the national peace and security... A series of activities of the festival aim to serve the entertainment needs of people when participating in the festival.
Currently, the police and military forces have developed plans to protect security, order, traffic safety, fire prevention and fighting before, during and after the festival; organize traffic regulation and diversion in the central area and some locations of Rach Gia ward.
The Department of Tourism of An Giang province has issued a document requesting to ensure facilities and services during the festival; travel agencies design tours associated with sightseeing, experiencing festival activities...
Every year, the relic welcomes 2 - 3 million visitors from all over the world, and is a special spiritual and cultural tourism destination of the province. This is also an opportunity for the province to promote and honor the unique cultural values of the national intangible cultural heritage of the Nguyen Trung Truc - Rach Gia Dinh Thuan Festival, thereby raising the sense of responsibility of all levels, sectors and people in preserving, maintaining and promoting the value of national cultural heritage, Ms. Ca said.
In the history of the fight against foreign invaders, Nguyen Trung Truc is one of the outstanding patriotic heroes. He was the leader of the anti-French uprising movement in the late 19th century, the admiration and pride of the people of the South.
The historical and cultural relic of the Tomb and Communal House of National Hero Nguyen Trung Truc in Rach Gia Ward is not only a place to worship the national hero, but also an important historical and cultural relic of Kien Giang Province (now An Giang). Every year, this place attracts a large number of visitors to worship, the peak of which is the 3 main days of the Nguyen Trung Truc Festival.
