Vietnam — Events
Tet Festival
One of Vietnam’s biggest celebrations, the annual Tet Festival celebrates the Chinese New Year and is the biggest event on the calendar. A time for friends and family to come together, it is also a time to pay respects to deceased ancestors and many celebrate the occasion with a lavish meal before heading to one of the many public parades and fireworks displays taking place in all of the major towns and cities. The loud bangs of the firecrackers are believed to scare off the evil forces from the coming year.
O Loan Lagoon Festival
Tourists traveling by train through the country can enjoy the beauty of the Black Dragon Lagoon. Every year on 7 January, people from surrounding areas come here for the festival of traditional cultures which features organized events such as boat racing, net-throwing for fishing, basket-boat shaking, swimming, dancing, classical theater, wrestling and many more. Festival-goers can enjoy all these activities while drums, bugles and one-stringed instruments echo in the background.
Phu Giay Festival
The Phu Giay Festival is dedicated to female genius, Lieu Hanh and is celebrated from 1st March to 10th March every year according to the lunar calendar. Every year thousands of followers join the yearly Phu Giay Festival where around 30 young men from every village join the festival carrying long decorated bamboo sticks and stand in ranks to forge four Chinese characters ‘Mau Nghi Thien Ha’. On 3 March is the anniversary of the death of ‘The Mother’, Lieu Hanh and she is escorted from the Van Cat Temple to Dan pagoda on 5 March and then again from Tien Huong Temple to Goi Pagoda on 6 March.
