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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.
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