THANH LIET TEMPLE FESTIVAL, HUNG LAM COMMUNE

Thanh Liet Temple in Hung Lam commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province - a historic architectural and artistic relic ranked at the national level by Ministry of Culture in 1997.

Every year at the beginning of the new year (February 6 of the lunar calendar), the people of Hung Lam commune in particular and the people of Hung Nguyen district in general are excited about the Thanh Liet temple festival. Returning to today's festival, we do not only show the respect of posterity to our ancestors, with the tradition of "drinking water, think of its source" but also reflect the strong folklore activities of our people. In order to review the heroic history of the nation, review the martial spirit of our ancestors in the cause of national construction and defense. At the same time, continue to preserve and promote the value of the monument.

The main part of the festival is mainly held on the river, associated with the conceptions and rituals of the river dwellers, with the wish to pray for good weather and prosperity of the aquatic community, fishermen caught a lot of seafood, driving away the pandemic and living a peaceful and prosperous life. The space of the festival is a section of Lam river about 2.5km long, from the river wharf in front of Thanh Liet temple to Nga Ba Phu (also known as Bai Phu or Tam Ky Giang), including rituals such as: “lễ xổ dầm, lễ chiêu nghinh, lễ chính tế, lễ chặt văng”

Thanh Liet temple festival helps to satisfy the spiritual needs of the people, passing on the customs and habits of the ancestors to the next generation. The festival is characterized by river and water, which preserves the belief of worshiping the water god and reflects the professional thinking of the people in the lower Lam River region. Thanh Liet Temple Festival is one of the few of traditional festivals inf Nghe An that has not been affected much by the administrativeization of the festival or immigration to change in traditional rituals and ceremonies. The festival contributes to forging the community spirit, creating the vitality of the village, maintaining stability for the whole community, aiming to adjust individual behavior and community relationships within the village.

With the above values, Thanh Liet temple festival was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism according to Decision No. 3609/QD-BVHTTDL dated September 27^th, 2018.