Festivals remember Tran dynasty’s contributions

Countless people headed to the Tran temple in Nam Dinh city, the northern province of Nam Dinh for the seal opening ceremony starting on the night of February 13 (the 14th of the first lunar month).
Countless people headed to the Tran temple in Nam Dinh city, thenorthern province of Nam Dinh for t he seal opening ceremony startingon the night of February 13 (the 14th of the first lunar month).

The ceremony was a re-enactment of a custom datingback to the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), when mandarins of the imperialadministration took out their seals to resume administrative activitiesafter the Tet holidays.

It has become a tradition forVietnamese people to head to the temple to get replica seals in hopefor good luck and happiness.

The eventstarted with a procession participated by over 100 local residents tocarry the seal from the Co Trach temple, which is dedicated to Tran HungDao, the Supreme Commander of Vietnam during the Tran Dynasty, to theThien Truong temple, where 14 kings of the Tran Dynasty are worshipped.

On the 15th and 16th days of the firstlunar month, an array of traditional cultural and sport activities likelion and dragon dancing, Cheo singing (popular opera), Chau Van singing,human chess, wrestling and martial arts performance will be held at thetemple.

The same day, at the TranThuong temple in Ly Nhan district in neighbouring Ha Nam province, afood-distributing festival was also held to pray for a bumper crop andfavourable weather.

During the festival,about 100,000 food parcels, which contain corn, soya bean, and stickyrice - key staples produced by Ly Nhan residents – are to be handed out.

The annual festival in Ha Nam, the eventis also to commemorate the great contributions of General Tran Hung Dao(1228-1300) in the fight against the Mongol invaders in the 13thcentury.

Tran Hung Dao, whose realname is Tran Quoc Tuan, led Vietnamese troops to repel three majorinvasions of the Mongols, who succeeded in conquering most of CentralAsia and Eastern Europe. Tran Hung Dao’s triple victories are consideredamong the greatest military feats in world history and the commander isregarded as one of the most accomplished military tacticians inhistory.

The Tran Dynasty (1255-1400)ruled during an age of affluence in Vietnam, with significant triumphsagainst foreign invaders (most famously overcoming three Mongolinvasions), outstanding socio-economic development and rich culture.

Nam Dinh was the first residence of the Tran dynasty founders whileHung Ha district, Thai Binh province was the place where the dynasty wasfounded some 800 years ago.-VNA

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