Opening Ceremony of Lang Suong Temple Festival in 2024

The Organizing Committee of Lang Suong Temple Festival hosted the Lang Suong Temple Festival in 2024 opening ceremony on February 24 (the 15th day of the first lunar month) at Lang Suong Temple National Monument, Dong Trung commune, Thanh Thuy district.

To kick off the event, Thanh Thuy district leaders banged drums.

According to legend, Mrs. Dinh Thi Den married Mr. Nguyen Cao Hanh but no children. One day, a golden dragon flew down into the well, gulped up water, and spewed out pearls. Mrs. Dinh Thi Den bathed in water, felt light and fragrant, became pregnant, and gave birth to Tan Vien at Lang Suong cave, which is today in Dong Trung commune, Thanh Thuy district. In Vietnamese folklore, Saint Tan Vien is a deity who helps people regulate water, recover land, educate people how to produce wet rice, hunt wild animals, and repel foreign invaders. To remember his remarkable merits, people around the country built temples to revere Tan Vien Mountain’s God and smoked incense all year. However, only Lang Suong Temple worships the full family of Saint Tan, which includes his father Nguyen Cao Hanh, his mother Dinh Thi Den, baby-sitter Ma Thi Cao Son, his wife - Princess Ngoc Hoa, and his two generals of Cao Son and Quy Minh.

Rituals during the Lang Suong Temple Traditional Festival in 2024.

The Lang Suong Temple Festival is celebrated every year on January 15th, Saint Tan’s birthday. Following the procession of gifts and water from the Da River dock to Lang Suong Temple, and the sound of drums and gongs to begin the celebration, the delegates presented incense, flowers, and thanksgiving offerings in honor of Saint Tan and his family, as well as two generals. In order to serve the people and the large number of tourists who come to visit and attend the traditional festival of Lang Suong Temple, in addition to the main activities of the festival, there are many cultural activities, arts, sports, and games folk activities such as throwing shuttlecocks, smashing pots... thereby preserving and promoting the national cultural identity and traditions.

During the ritual, delegates presented incense.

After thousands of years of history and several repairs and upgrades, Lang Suong Temple preserves its original timber architecture, with various periods' creative styles intertwined. In 1993, the Temple was designated as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic, and The Temple was designated as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 2005, and the Lang Suong Temple Traditional Festival was named a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in 2018.

Some photos from the Lang Suong Temple Traditional Festival in 2024:

Muong people perform in Tu Vu commune.

Cam Nhung