Vietnam's local festivals provide visitors with an opportunity to get exposed to the myths, customs, and entertainment of this Southeast Asian country. Despite its modern developments, Vietnam remains a major traditional country with thousands of pagodas and shrines as well as various deities and iconic figures.
There are also many cultural events that are only celebrated at certain times of the year (or years), and since tourists generally do not know when these festivals will take place, a list of the best festivals in Vietnam has been compiled here. Some of these festivals are held throughout the country or at specific locations. Here are also some suggestions for the best places so that you can fully experience these unique festive events during your holiday.
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1. Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year) January and February </h1>
Lunar New Year - the first day of the first lunar month
What's the holiday content?
The first day of the first lunar month (locally known as Tet) is the biggest festival of the year, and like Chinese, families across Vietnam drop their jobs and get together. Like China, people go to temples to burn incense and pray for blessings. Traveling through Vietnam at this time, you will see locals lighting fireworks or going to the temple with their families to pray for blessings, while you can see many interesting sights of flower stalls. It is customary to send flowers during the Spring Festival. Is it like being in China?
Where is the best place to celebrate?
Tet is well known throughout Vietnam, but it's best to be in big cities, as small towns are actually closed, making it difficult to find food and transportation. Hanoi is the best place to enjoy this kind of festival. The Temple of Embassy (Chùa Quán Sứ) or the Ngđền Ngọc Sơn) Here you can see locals lighting incense in the morning and praying to their ancestors, while the Hanoi Opera House often organizes vibrant gatherings and fireworks displays.
2. Hue Festival once every two years, in a week between April and June. </h1>
Hue Festival
The Hue Festival is a biennial celebration held in the UNESCO-listed city of Hue. The festivities generally last for a week (usually between April and June) and you can enjoy a range of cultural activities, games, and performances during the week. The festival was established in 2000 to preserve the traditional customs of the Nguyen Dynasty. If you visit Hue during this festival, you can expect unique displays such as the Hue Poetry Festival, Vietnamese drums and the Ao Dai fashion show, kite flying, sports events such as rowing, chess matches, as well as street performances, film screenings and art exhibitions.
The Hue Festival is held only in Hue City, the capital of Hue Province in central Vietnam.
3. Fragrant Hills Temple Fair mid-February/March </h1>
Perfume Festival
The Hoang Son Temple Fair attracts a large number of pilgrims from all over Vietnam to Hanoi's iconic Hon Tien Po Cha, where they pray for a good harvest year and pay homage to the Buddha. The pilgrimage begins with a dragon dance at Đền Trấn Song on January 15 of the lunar calendar, with pilgrims (and even travelers) taking boats along the Yanxi River (suối yến) to the foot of Hương Sơn, passing through limestone caves and rice paddies. The hike continues along the hundreds of stone steps leading to shanti cave (Động Hương Tích), offering colorful food, idols, lit incense and prayers to the locals.
Starting from the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Fragrant Hills Temple will be held in Hanoi's Fragrant HeavenLy Treasure Temple.
4. Mid-Autumn Festival in mid-September </h1>
mid-autumn festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival takes place on the fourteenth and fifteenth of August in the lunar calendar, with a variety of activities, such as children holding paper lanterns, lion dances and stalls selling food, selling mooncakes, glutinous rice, fruits and various sweets. Also known as the Harvest Festival, many Vietnamese families set up an altar on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, on which sacrifices dedicated to the full moon are displayed.
The best place to celebrate is in Hoi An, where you will see numerous street performances, lantern parades and art exhibitions in Hoi An, an ancient town of the world listed by UNESCO. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children can also participate in prose, painting and coloring competitions, while visitors can enjoy the magnificent sight of colorful paper lanterns on both sides of the Akibon River and next to the Japanese Covered Bridge.
5. Xiongwang Temple Fair in early April </h1>
HongJing Temple Festival
The Temple Fair was held to commemorate the martial arts of King Hung, who became the first king of Vietnam in 2879 BC. The main worship service is held at the Hung Temple, located at the top of Nghia Linh Hill in Phu Tho Province, while on the eve of the festival, 100 lanterns take off. The next morning, a flower ceremony was held at the Temple of Ascension (Upper Temple), where the King worshipped the gods during his reign. Finally, a huge procession begins at the foot of the mountain, including pilgrims, xoan classical song performances and classical operas at several temples on the way to the Temple of the Lord.
The Temple of the King of Nghia Linh in Toyoju District, Phu Tho Province.
6. Forest Festival in mid-February </h1>
Forest section
During the Forest Festival, you can enjoy a UNESCO World Heritage Site of national singing performances and a variety of traditional games during the visit. Held on the 12th to 13th day of the first lunar month, the village is divided into several stages where you can see locals performing in traditional costumes. We highly recommend heading to the lake outside the Lim Community Building to watch a full chorus performance on a dragon boat. The festival also hosts folk games such as danh du (bamboo swing), cockfighting, tug-of-war, wrestling, human chess and blind bluff.
The Forest Festival is celebrated in Lin Village, Tiandu District, Bac Ninh Province. Located 18 km from Hanoi, you can easily catch a bus or rent a car to reach this traditional village.
7. Obon Festival in early September </h1>
The annual Obon Festival takes place on July 15 of the lunar calendar, when locals believe that this is the day when ancestral souls can visit their homes. On the eve of the festival, many families flock to Buddhist temples and the graves of deceased loved ones to pray, flowers, sticky rice cakes, sugar cane and fruits. At this time of year, paper money and clothes are also burned.
While Buddhists across Vietnam celebrate the Obon Festival, the best place to enjoy this gloomy festival is Hue, which is filled with Buddhist shrines and pagodas where locals and monks alike attend ceremonies and prayers. The festival is also known as the Tet Han Thuc festival because refrigerated dishes such as banh troi (floating rice cake) and banh chay (tangyuan with mung bean paste) are usually eaten.
8. Hoi An Lantern Festival on the 14th day of every month </h1>
The Hoi An Lantern Festival is a monthly event that turns a quaint UNESCO World Heritage Site into a spectacular display of paper lanterns. On the 14th day of every lunar month, every shop, restaurant, bar and business in the ancient town turns off all electricity and relies on hundreds of candles and lanterns. At the same time, free entry to all temples, where you can see monks and locals perform candlelight ceremonies.
The Hoi An Lantern Festival is held in Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the best place to celebrate is in the Guzhen area. Held until late, the streets are filled with musicians playing traditional instruments, Chinese chess, poetry readings and lantern-making classes.
9. Buddha's Birthday in early May </h1>
Buddha's Birthday
Despite being a communist country, devotees across Vietnam are still celebrating Buddha's Birthday. Taking place on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, many temples are decorated with lavish decorations, and the locals offer fruits, garlands, and a variety of Vietnamese dishes. The event usually attracts thousands of visitors who wish to participate in street parades and prayer meetings.
Hoi An is the best place to visit the Buddha's Birthday. Held at Ho Ho Ho Temple, the day begins with monks marching through the streets of Hoi An Ancient Town, before locals flock to the temple for religious ceremonies and buddhist scriptures. In the evening, you can expect a lively parade along the main roads of the Old Town, where animals are grazed, while garlands and lanterns are placed along the riverbank. In addition to experiencing the local culture, Buddha's Birthday is also a great time to sample vegetarian food from vendors in Hoi An.
10. Fujay Festival from late March to early April </h1>
There is a saying in Vietnam: "We have Father's Day in August and Mother's Day in March." Mother's Day is held at the Temple of Phu Giay, dedicated to the female genius Lieu Hanh.
The Fujai Festival attracts devotees of the goddess Lieu Hanh to the Temple of Fujai, where they pray for good luck while carrying ornamented bamboo artifacts and wearing traditional clothing. Located 88 kilometers east of Hanoi, the temple also hosts various games such as capture the flag, human chess, lion dance and wrestling, which are full of life throughout the day. Visitors can also enjoy folk dances and classical songs such as gongs, cheo (musicals) and ca tru (chamber music).
For a hundred years, hundreds of thousands of people from many provinces across the country flocked to the festival held annually in Fujay. In the past, the honorary president of the festival was a regional official or governor. Young people are an important force in the service of music festivals. Each village contributed between 20 and 30 young people, each carrying a two-meter-long stick decorated with bamboo sticks. The young men stood up with colored sticks and forged four Chinese characters "Mau Nghi Thien Ha" (the woman whose virtue made her the mother of the country).
These young people also played an important role in the procession that accompanied Lieu Hanh to escort the tower. On March 5, accompanied by "Mother", from Van Cat Temple to Dan Pagoda, on March 6, from Tian Xiang Temple to Wai Pagoda. Each parade involved dozens of people carried by eight people in painted and gilded palanquins. In the procession, a group of elderly women walked high above their heads on a long cloth known as the "Flyover" for geniuses and spirits to travel. Next up are young men and women dressed in colorful traditional costumes, as well as hats wearing hats that dance with thousands of participants, singing loudly and holding burning incense in both hands. Due to the large number of participants, each parade spans one to two kilometers.
March 3 marks the anniversary of the death of Princess Lieu Hanh (mother). In the past, anniversaries were commemorated by ceremonies hosted by prominent local personalities and presided over by regional officials. It was one of the most solemn ceremonies, with participants all dressed in traditional costumes worn by court officials. The atmosphere, the dress and gestures of the participants, etc., made many onlookers feel that the meeting of the Imperial Court was being reformulated. The altar is filled with offerings - buffalo, cattle, rice crackers and other grilled meats. Later, a second anniversary ceremony was added, performed only by girls in their twenties.
The Fujay Festival also includes many traditional games that are popular with tourists. In particular, the game "Live Chess" is one of the favorite projects for real girls to play the role of chess pieces: one team is made up of girls wearing green turbans, and the other team is made up of girls with red headscarves.
Every year from March 1 to 10 of the lunar calendar, the Fujay Festival is held at Fujay Temple in Jintai Commune, Wuben District, northern Henan Province.
PS:
The Lunar Calendar of Vietnam coincides with the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Public holidays in Vietnam
1 January: Western New Year's Day
3 February: The founding day of the Communist Party of Vietnam
30 April: Liberation Day in South Vietnam and Saigon
1 May: Labor Day
19 May: Ho Chi Minh's birthday
28 May: To commemorate the birth anniversary, the enlightenment and death of the Buddha
2 September: National Day
3 September: The day to commemorate the death of Ho Chi Minh
November: Confucius's birthday; the exact date is uncertain, depending on the lunar calendar.