Northern festivals remembering Tran Dynasty draw public crowdsTran Thuong Temple’s food-distributing festival in northern Ha Nam province and Tran Kings temple’s seal opening ceremony in the other northern province of Nam Dinh took place on March 1, the 14th day of the first lunar month. Tran Thuong temple is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao (1228-1300), the supreme commander of Vietnam in the Tran Dynasty, who repelled three major Mongolian invasions in the 13th century. In honour of the past event, a food-distributing festival is held annually at Tran Thuong Temple on the 14th day of the first lunar month. The ceremony re-enacted a custom dating back to the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), when mandarins took out their seals after the lunar New Year holiday (Tet) to resume administrative activities, including conferring titles. As is tradition, this year’s event opened with a procession to take the seal from Co Trach temple to Thien Truong temple, where 14 kings of the Tran Dynasty are worshipped.

Source: VietNamNet News March 02, 2018 09:18 UTC