Actively preparing for the Great Mother Au Co Temple Festival

In less than a week, the 2024 Great Mother Au Co Temple Festival (Ha Hoa district) will kicks off. To better serve the requirements of citizens and visitors for sightseeing and giving incense to show appreciation to their ancestors, the Ha Hoa district is actively preparing to create a green, clean, and attractive festivals while preserving solemnity and respect, the festival’s events are meticulously planned.

Students of Xuan Ang High School (Ha Hoa district) practice the Female Mandarin Sacrifice Ceremony.

Visiting the Great Mother Au Co Temple Relic Area (Ha Hoa district) in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, we could sense the frantic and rushed working environment of the professional and site management teams. Relics, in charge of ceremonial decoration and publicity work to promote Great Mother Au Co Temple, are adorning new flower pots, caring for beautiful plants, hanging flags, lanterns... to make the area of the Relic Area airy. Pilgrims are greeted by bright, clean environment as they pay devotion to Mother Goddess Au Co.

Great Mother Au Co Temple Relic Area is in the process of renovating the terrain and surroundings in preparation for the celebration.

To ensure that the festival is well-organized, the Ha Hoa district held a conference at the beginning of January 2024 to implement the plan to organize Great Mother Au Co Temple Festival in 2024, assigning tasks to members of the organizing committee, focusing on logistics, facility provision, environmental sanitation, security and order, traffic safety, and festival propaganda. Ms. Nguyen Bich Thuy, Deputy Head of Ha Hoa District’s Department of Culture and Information, stated that the 2024 Great Mother Au Co Temple Festival will take place from February 14 to February 16 (lunar January 5 to 7). The festival begins with its opening ceremony and the presentation of the decision to designate Great Mother Au Co Temple Cultural Tourist Site. At the festival, the Ha Hoa district will arrange numerous cultural events, arts, and sports to create a pleasant and exciting atmosphere for guests from all around. The ritual will begin at 7:30 a.m. on February 16, with palanquin procession and female mandarin offerings."

It is a particularly important rite during Great Mother Au Co Temple Festival’s main day, January 7. This year, training is being intensively undertaken to guarantee that the female mandarin sacrifice rite runs smoothly and adheres to ancient procedures. The worship squad is made up of 21 beautiful and well-behaved young women who attend Xuan Ang High School in the Ha Hoa area. Student Truong Thi Kieu Oanh - Xuan Ang High School shared: “For nearly a month, my friends and I have been trying to practice very hard and seriously, wanting to complete the ceremony seriously to show our hearts respectfully and gratefully pay tribute to Great Mother Au Co” .

At the moment, all work to prepare facilities atGreat Mother Au Co Temple Relic Area is being completed urgently; the training and preliminary program is being carried out seriously, ensuring the correct order and time, ready for a civilized festival season, contributing to promoting the cultural beauty of the early Spring festival in Dat To region, towards tourists' satisfaction when visiting, sightseeing, appreciating the merits of ancestors...

Ngoc Bich