Each year, Hanoi has about 1,200 festivals with different themes, sizes and forms, including great festivals such as Huong Pagoda Festival, Dong Da Mound Festival, Giong Festival, Co Loa Temple Festival, Hai Ba Trung Temple Festival, Thay Pagoda Festival, Tay Phuong Pagoda Festival and temple festivals … The festivals are mainly in spring.
Although having their own size and identity, the festivals are basically cultural and belief activities of the people and have a profound influence on their cultural and spiritual life. Festival civilization comes from Festival Organization and Management Board and visitors to the Festivals.
Trieu Khuc Village Festival (Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District) maintains many beautiful cultural features.
In order to enhance effectiveness and efficiency in annual festival management and organization, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, Hanoi City People’s Committee issued Decision on establishment of an interdisciplinary inspection team to manage and organize the festivals in the city. For strictly following the direction of the Central Government and the Ministry of Culture – Sports and Tourism in order to strengthen the festival management and organization in 2019, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports advised the City People’s Committee to issue written instructions for festival management and organization in 30 districts, towns and cities. Hanoi Department of Culture and Information has issued Plan No. 469/KH-SVH&TT on festival management and organization in Hanoi City in 2019. In which, the Department of Culture and Sports emphasizes the strengthening of inspection and review before, during and after the festival, avoids superstition and backward activities at risk of security and order at the festivals; promptly prevents and strictly handles violations, especially acts of abusing relics and festivals for profits, inciting violence, circulating and trading in illegal cultural products and legal violations. The festival organization is economical, formal, practical, effective and suitable to the locality’s economic conditions and Vietnamese traditional cultural values have been preserved and promoted.
Select appropriate clothes when visiting monuments and attending festivals.
With the determination to return their true values to the festivals, the festival managers and organizers are trying to organize activities in the festivals under the habits and customs, in conformity with the locality’s economic conditions, meeting the people’s cultural belief needs without superstition and affecting order and security. From lessons learnt from the previous festival seasons, there are positive changes at many festivals this year. After implementing the bamboo flower and betel ceremony, the Soc Temple Festival Organization Board will directly give offerings to the harem and will not deliver fortunues immediately after the end of the ceremony. This will be held at the appropriate time.
On the occasion of the 230th anniversary of the Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da Victory, the ceremony of recognizing Dong Da Mound as a special national relic site will take place on 09/02/2019 (i.e the 5th of Lunar New Year). Traffic distribution, parking area, shops, services and security and order supervision … are planned by the People’s Committee of Dong Da District to ensure a civilized and significant festival season.
From a tourist perspective, festival civilization is expressed through civilized and polite behavior and community awareness of maintaining general hygiene, keeping security and order in the festival areas and strictly complying with the regulations of the Festival Organization Board. That is the strict implementation of the Code of Conduct in the city’s public areas.
Firstly, it is required to select the clothes suitably and conveniently for the practice of beliefs. Do not wear skirts and scanty clothes. In fact, the festival sites have regulations on clothes, clearly requiring polite clothes and not wearing short skirts, shorts and two-piece shirts …, but many participants in the festivals are still unaware of selecting the clothes and wear clothes distasteful and unconfortable to the surrounding people, affecting the solemn atmosphere at the festival sites.
The next is the self-aware spirit to strictly abide by the regulations at the festivals. Whether traveling alone or in groups, the visitors must queue up for buying the tickets and attending the festivals in order. Do not elbow others out in a crowd, swear and speak too loudly to cause disorder. Only follow the routes arranged by the Organization Board. Do not willingly follow other roads to ensure safety. At the festival sites, burn votive papers in the designated places. Only burn incenses in the designated places. Do not burn too many votive papers and burn incenses to create unconfortable festival space and affect the statue system arranged in the relics. Do not solicit and practice physiognomy and tell fortunes at the festivals. Heighten awareness of environmental protection and general hygiene. Do not throw litters in disorder, especially litters after eating and drinking. Do not pick flowers, fruits and branches … affecting environmental hygiene and green – clean – beautiful landscape of the relics. Do not throw money in the lakes and the wells…
The festivals are originated from the people’s spiritual cultures. Through attending the festivals, the people want to express their aspirations, pray for peace in the soul, luck and prosperity in life. It is required to maintain cultural beauty and preserve and promote cultural identities. Along with changes in the way of organizing the safe and solemn festivals under the procedures, the participants in the festivals need to have civilized behaviors. The visitors’ civilized and polite behaviors are to contribute to the beauty of the festival.
Nguyen Tam