Culture - Sports

Royal seals bring good luck at temple's festival

A palanquin parade kicked off the long-awaited Tran Temple Festival on March 1 in northern Nam Dinh province.
A palanquin parade kicked off the long-awaited Tran Temple Festival on March 1 in northern Nam Dinh province.

The festival will run until March 6, with a ceremony for distributingpapers stamped with the holy royal seals taking place in the night ofMarch 4 - the first full moon of the lunar new year.

The Ngoc Lo palanquin parade honouring Zen master King Tran Nhan Tong(1258-1308) started at Pho Minh Pagoda and ended at the nearby ThienTruong Temple. The custom took place this year for the first time sincethe early 20th century.

The stamps are part of alocal tradition dating back to the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), accordingto researchers at the Vietnam Culture and Arts Institute.

Another festival honouring the Tran kings is held on March 3 night at Tran Temple in the northern province of Thai Binh.

A ceremony dedicated to the Tran Dynasty's ancestor, Tran Kinh, willbe organised on March 8, the 18th day of the first lunar month.

While Thai Binh is considered the birthplace of the Tran kings'ancestors, the dynasty's first royal palaces were located in Nam Dinh.-VNA
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