Lam Kinh Festival 2018 kicks off in Thanh Hoa

Thanh Hoa (VNA) – The Lam Kinh Festival 2018 was held at the Lam Kinh special national relic site in Xuan Lam commune, Tho Xuan district, the central province of Thanh Hoa on October 1 or the 22nd of the eight lunar month.

This year’s festival aimed to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Lam Son Uprising, the 590th anniversary of King Le Thai To’s coronation and the 585th anniversary of national hero Le Loi’s death.

The festival included two main parts – traditional rituals such as palanquin procession, incense offering and worship ceremonies, and festive activities with art performances, folk music and games.

Art shows under the theme Long Lived Lam Son Spirit, which featured the tradition of fighting against Chinese Ming invaders to protect the country’s sovereignty.

The Lam Kinh special national relic site worships national hero Le Loi who led the Lam Son uprising to fight the Chinese Ming invaders in the 15th century and became the first King of the later Le dynasty (1427-1789) with the title of Le Thai To in 1428. The site also honours other Kings of the Le dynasty and Le Lai, who rendered an outstanding merit to the nation at the time.

According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu (The Great Annals of Dai Viet), the King passed away on the 22nd day of the eighth lunar month. People then took that day to hold an annual festival to remind descendants of the heroic tradition of the nation and remember ancestors. The festival starts one day earlier as when he was alive, the King told his descendants to make a worship ceremony dedicated to Le Lai on a day earlier to his own death anniversary.

Constructed in 1433, Lam Kinh is also the site of a number of important royal tombs and tombstones, including Vinh Lang stone stele, four imperial tombs of kings from the Le dynasty and the tomb of Queen Ngo Thi Ngoc Giao, mother of King Le Thanh Tong (1442-1497). In 1962, the historic site was recognised as a national historic relic by the State.-VNA