Luc Giap Communal Banh Day Festival

Luc Giap Communal Banh Day Festival Luc Giap Communal Banh Day Festival is a unique traditional festival held at Luc Giap communal house - a provincial-level historical and cultural relic, a communal house worshiping the tutelary god of six villages in the ancient Bo Xuyen village (formerly called "Giap"), today Dong Thai commune. The worshiped tutelary gods include four generals of the Hung King period: Ly Ngu Long (who was instrumental in destroying the An invaders) and three Ngo Cong Truong Minh, Thu Minh and Quy Minh (who helped King Hung attack the country of Thuc). The festival has profound research value on the folk culture and beliefs of ancient Vietnamese people. According to legends kept at the communal house and told by elders in the area, the festival dates back to the reign of Hung Due Vuong. The three Ngo Cong - grandchildren of King Hung Due Vuong taught the villagers how to make banh chung and banh day to offer to heaven and earth, gods and to the king. Since then, the image of banh day has been associated with the spirit of gratitude to ancestors, becoming a unique folk cultural symbol. The festival is held annually from November 25 to 29 of the lunar calendar, with the main festival on the 29th. This is an opportunity for the community to commemorate the gods of the Hung King period, while also demonstrating the cultural connection between the land of Ninh Binh and the Van Lang - Au Lac civilization. The main rituals of the festival include: Moc Duc Ceremony; Ceremony to invite gods from Dinh Doi (Dong - Doai village) to Luc Giap communal house; Banh day making ritual; procession and procession of cakes from the villages to the communal house; Day cake offering ceremony; ceremony and funeral procession. In addition to the solemn ceremony, the festival also has many folk games and cultural and sports activities such as: blindfolded duck catching, bamboo bridge walking, swinging, human chess, volleyball competition... In particular, the rituals of pounding cakes, cake contests, palanquin processions... are still preserved with many original elements. Traditional rituals blended with new features of modern life such as allowing women to participate in ceremonies, improvements in procession formations... have demonstrated the festival's enduring vitality and flexible adaptation in the flow of time. That is a vivid expression of the process of preservation combined with creativity and continuation of tradition to affirm the national cultural identity. Not only honoring the four angels, the Luc Giap Communal Banh Day Festival also pays tribute to the human gods - the native tutelary gods who have publicly destroyed the land and accompanied the people in the process of building villages and defending the country. When the festival takes place, the entire community of six villages participates together from preparation to ritual practice. People who are far away from home still return to contribute to the festival, creating a strong bond between generations, between the past and the present. Through organizing the festival, the community of six villages in Dong Thai commune not only preserves traditional customs and practices but also builds a spirit of solidarity and arouses pride in their original culture. The festival becomes an opportunity to educate the moral "when drinking water, remember its source", gratitude to ancestors and those who have contributed to the homeland and country. The bustling festive atmosphere at the end of the year also creates conditions for the community to have fun, entertain, interact, and bond, contributing to enriching spiritual life and strengthening the village's cultural foundation. Along with tangible heritage such as village communal houses and documentary heritage such as ordinations, couplets, myths..., the Luc Giap Communal Banh Day Festival is a lively archive of documents serving research on the social and cultural relationships of the community of residents in the ancient Bo Xuyen region. This is a valuable contribution to enriching the Vietnamese folk festival system and is an important source of folk history for historical and cultural researchers in the ancient Than Phu - Chinh Dai coastal area.