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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.
Major
festivals in Vietnam
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