Spreading the Love for Traditional Culture in Schools

In the school environment, folklore education is no longer confined to dry textbook pages; instead, it has become an emotional and visual experience for students. This is vividly demonstrated through vibrant Spring festivals and Tet programs organized across various schools. These activities not only bring a joyful and warm Tet atmosphere to children but also contribute to promoting, educating, and spreading a love for culture, effectively implementing the “Friendly Schools, Active Students” movement.

Vinh Tien Primary & Secondary School (Muong Dong Commune) organizes the “Countryside Tet” Festival, featuring a traditional Tet feast decoration competition.

Bui Thu Trang, a student at Vinh Tien Primary & Secondary School, shared that her first experience wrapping Banh Chung at the Spring Fair helped her understand the significance of Banh Chung and Banh Giay as symbols of Heaven and Earth, embodying gratitude toward ancestors.

For over three years, alongside establishing the “Youth Club for Preserving National Cultural Identity,” Mai Chau High School has organized numerous activities to research and collect photos, articles, and documentaries on tangible and intangible cultural heritages. These include residential architecture, labor tools, musical instruments, festivals, customs, beliefs, folk songs, traditional crafts, and local history.

The school also arranges for club members and students to participate in traditional festivals and visit historical landmarks such as Bon Village Temple, the Mo Village Ancient Persimmon Tree, and Bo Doi Cave. These trips are combined with meetings and seminars featuring local historians and cultural experts, helping students grasp the value of traditional culture and their responsibility in protecting these heritages, thereby igniting national pride in their community’s cultural treasures.

The experiential activity “Highland Market - Tet and Spring Festival” at Mai Chau Kindergarten.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Diep, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, stated: "Recently, the education sector has strengthened activities linked to the “Friendly Schools, Active Students” program, focusing on life skills education and integrating traditional culture into schools. Annually, schools develop rich educational plans to equip students with fundamental knowledge of ethnic cultural capital, showcasing festivals, customs, folk games, folk dances, and local specialties."

Through regular exposure to folklore activities, students from kindergarten to high school have enhanced their awareness of cultural identity preservation while gaining opportunities to exchange and respect diverse cultures.

Furthermore, implementing the project “Preserving and Promoting the Traditional Costumes of Vietnam’s Ethnic Minorities in the Current Period,” the education sector has encouraged school boards to wear ethnic attire to school. Regulations have been introduced to encourage staff, teachers, and students at boarding schools for ethnic minorities, as well as ethnic minority students and teachers at all levels across the province, to wear traditional costumes at least one day per week.

With the industry’s efforts and the support of students, parents, and society, bringing traditional culture into schools has contributed to preserving cultural identity, nurturing pride in traditions, fostering ethnic solidarity, and promoting the comprehensive development of morality, intellect, physique, and aesthetics in the younger generation.

Bui Minh