Qua Son temple festival

Qua Son temple festival was held at Qua Son temple in Boi Son commune, Do Luong district, Nghe An province. Temple of Uy Minh King Ly Nhat Quang - Leader of Nghe An, who had many merits to build the homeland of NgheAn and expand and protect the territory for the Dai Viet monarchy under the Ly Dynasty. Qua temple is a historical and cultural relic and it was ranked at the national level in 1999 by Ministry of Culture and Information (now known as Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) at the national level in 1999.

The special feature of Qua Temple Festival is the procession of him to give thanks to Ba But at Ba But pagoda, also known as Tien Tich, about 4km west of the temple in Lam Son commune. Legend has it that Ba But was the person who often inspired and helped Ly Nhat Quang in building a country and helping people and he was the one who showed Ly Nhat Quang where to convert and sanctify at the foot of the mountain. Every two years, in even-numbered years, a procession will be held to give thanks at Ba But pagoda by both road and waterway.

Today's Temple Fruit Festival is held on January 19 and 20 every year, basically retaining the rituals of the old festival, but with some changes to suit modern times. The ceremony has three main ceremonies, which are the Ceremony of Enlightenment and purification; the confession feast and the great sacrifice feast. After conducting the reception, at this time, two groups of two groups of marines and soldiers have all gathered in front of the temple to prepare to depart.

The infantry group was divided into "political soldiers" and "militants" teams, each with about 90 people wearing red and yellow silk soldiers' uniforms. The main army is divided into two vertical lines representing for two armies. When there was a military parade order, the left and right armies moved quickly around the perimeter of the temple yard, and turned 03 times on the right and 3 times on the left according to the pounding drums, the cheers of delegates and visitors created a majestic atmosphere that revived a glorious time of Warrior-Captain Ly. After that, the left army went to the left gate, the right army pulled out the left gate to form two rows of "militants" who were making the staff, and the procession began to depart. At the end of the infantry ceremony, all the "political soldiers" and "militants" along with the palanquin of the Holy Spirit slowly advanced towards Ba But pagoda.

After reviewing the infantry, it was the turn to review the marines. From the temple wharf, the marine army marched to Dong Ngu, under the witness of the infantry, the marine army conducted a review of the marines. At the signal, two boat crews take the procession boat as the center and row around three times in the right direction, three times in the opposite direction, when two boats have rowed all three rounds, the marine review ceremony ends, the dragon boats lined up along the stream upstream to pagoda wharf.

After reviewing the marines, the procession continued on its way, passing through villages where there are relics such as Nhan Boi pagoda, Tap Phuc communal house, Phuc Hau communal house, Nhan Trung communal house, Trach Thanh communal house, palanquin of Holy Spirit and palanquin of the saints and the palanquin of the gods stopped for a moment for dignitary officials and people of those villages to pay respects and salute.

At about 11 o'clock, two groups of road and water processions  gathered at Ba But pagoda to conduct incense offerings, flower offerings, and tray offerings to conduct an ancient ceremony (Thanksgiving). After the thanksgiving ceremony, delegates and tourists gathered at the temple yard to perform the ecstasy ceremony. At 2 p.m., two groups of marines and infantry held a military parade to prepare for the procession for bringing back. The order of the marching formations to the front was also organized like the reverse procession, as fast and urgent as when the army was launched. After the order, all the marines and infantry troops went to Qua Son temple. When the marines arrived at the temple wharf, the "political soldiers" and "militants" teams stood in two rows outside the temple gate to bring the Holy Spirit into the hall, all people and dignitaries held a ceremony for the Holy Spirit to settle down..

The festival part in Qua Son temple festival includes games of participating communes in the district. Folk games (playing swings, cockfighting, boat racing, chess, ethnic wrestling, pot-breaking, tug of war,...) are mixed with modern games (volleyball, football, etc.) ...). The games, whether folk or modern, take place extremely attractively, attracting a large number of people as well as tourists from all over the country to participate and leave many good impressions.

Qua Son temple festival is considered one of the biggest festivals of Nghe An province. The Thanksgiving festival demonstrates the "drinking water, think of its source" principle of the Vietnamese nation. With those features, Qua Son temple festival has been included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Decision No. 3325/QD-BVHTTDL on September 4, 2018.