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Festivals have long been considered the traditional cultural activity of the Vietnamese people. They are attractive to all social classes and have become a necessary part of people's lives for many centuries. Festivals are the crystallization of cultural, spiritual, and physical activities that have been chosen, maintained, and improved over many generations. Festivals are the living cultural museums of the way people live.
Festivals are a place to enjoy and learn about the people's crafts. For example, the Master Pagoda Festival (HaTay) has puppet shows and the Hung Temple Festival (Vinh Phu) has the "Xoan" folk songs. The Phu Giay Festival has "Chau Van" folk songs. The Lim Festival has "Quan Ho" folk songs. The drum beats that are mixed with traditional musical songs and dances create an never ending energy during the festivals.
Festivals are also a place to enjoy interesting games. There are many festival contests such as wrestling, rowing, rice cooking, rope pulling, rope climbing, and chess playing. There are also competitions between trained animals such as cock fights, buffalo fights, and pigeon races. Festivals are an occasion to remember national heroes, the manifestation of religious freedom, and religious ceremonies.
Festivals are also a place where different people can show their own customs and habits. Festival days are usually days where one can find social encounters, relationships, and love. Many loving relationships have originated from tournaments, competitions, or during a few lines of singing. |
