This year, commemorating the 1,020th anniversary of the death of King Le Dai Hanh, in a solemn and bustling atmosphere of spring, hundreds of people in Huu Thanh Oai village enthusiastically attended the traditional festival held at the village communal house.
Huu Thanh Oai communal house is one of the national historical and cultural relics, a place of worship for King Le Dai Hanh (Le Hoan) - founder of the Tien Le dynasty, who contributed to the dismantling of the invading Mong army and consolidating national independence in the 10th century.
According to folk legend, during a week of traveling to the South, King Le Dai Hanh stopped and issued a vision to establish a village in this land. People remember gratitude so they have built communal houses, worshiped and organized a festival on the 8th day of the 3rd lunar month every year.
The ceremony was solemnly held with traditional rituals: pilgrimage, incense offering, offering and reciting wishes. From early morning, the convoy in colorful traditional costumes moved around the village before returning to the main communal house. The ceremony was carried out in accordance with ancient customs with the participation of elders, the honor guard, representatives of clans and a large number of people.
The banh chung is also a special highlight, carefully prepared and imbued with the soul of the countryside. The dish usually consists of 8 traditional dishes that symbolize prosperity, harmony and respect: boiled chicken with roses, banh chung, sticky rice, sweet soup, nem thinh, pork roll, grilled fish and bamboo shoot soup. Each clan in the village sent representatives to bring the offering, expressing solidarity and gratitude to the ancestors.
After the solemn ceremony, there was a bustling festival, with folk games such as lion - dragon - monk dance and performances by local people. The atmosphere of the village festival was lit up by laughter, the sound of drums, gongs, cars and... along with cheers and encouragement, creating a vivid picture of the close and affectionate community life.
The traditional festival of Huu Thanh Oai village is not only an opportunity to show respect to the ancestors, but also a place to preserve intangible cultural values, young generation education about patriotic traditions, morality and pride in the homeland. The festival also shows the strong cohesion between the families in the village, which is clearly shown in the procession and the ancestral ceremony. This is not only a festival but also a convergence and reunion of the children far away from home, reviewing memories and contributing to building the homeland.
The festival ended in joy and excitement, but the cultural values it left behind continued to spread, nurturing the spirit of homeland love and heritage preservation. Although time has passed, the cultural flow of the village is always persistent, like the people here - loyal, affectionate and rich in pride.
