Witnessing the earliest festival of the year in Hai Duong

Attracting thousands of viewers

On the morning of January 6 (February 3, 2025), we attended the Bach Hao Pagoda Festival (commonly known as Hao Pagoda). This is the largest spring festival in Thanh Ha district and one of the earliest festivals of the year for Hai Duong people. The event was attended by district and commune leaders, along with many Buddhists and people from many places.

From early morning, the temple grounds were colorful with elaborately arranged fruit trays, elaborately decorated with many majestic positions such as "dragons gathering", "crane holding envelope"... demonstrating the ingenuity of local people.

After the incense offering ceremony in memory of the King - Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong and the three village guardian spirits, the ceremony of carrying the royal decree from the pagoda to the communal house was solemnly held. The sacrificial procession consisted of 16 men, dressed in traditional costumes, performing the sacrificial rituals with full chanting, serving and offering incense and flowers, creating a sacred space.

After the ceremony, the festival atmosphere became lively with unique folk games, in which the rowing festival, a unique cultural feature of the river region, stood out. The competitions took place along the Cua Chua River (a branch of the Huong River). The rowing festival was to commemorate the event when King Tran Nhan Tong visited the pagoda during his inspection tour. The racing teams consisted of male and female boats from four villages in the commune, each boat had 12 rowers, creating a dramatic competition on the water.

The duck catching and rice cooking contests on the river also made the audience more excited. The weather was quite cold with the cold air, but the contestants still quickly jumped into the water to catch the ducks amidst the audience's enthusiastic applause.

The rice cooking competition on the river is for the first, second and third place teams in the rowing boat race. This is a real challenge because the teams cook rice with torches and also have to splash water on the opponent's rice pot to extinguish the stove. Therefore, the task of the members is to row and keep the fire burning so that the rice cooks evenly. The team that cooks the rice first wins.

These games bring laughter to festival participants, attracting tens of thousands of viewers and livestreamers. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh in Thanh Tan commune said that her family works far from home, but every year when she comes back for Tet, she stays to watch the festival before going to work.

In the past, the festival also had many folk games such as climbing the Thum bridge, catching loach, but due to weather conditions and complicated organization, some games are no longer maintained. However, modern sports such as badminton, chess, and aerobics are still held from the 4th day of Tet to open the spring and last until the end of the festival. In addition, on the evening of the 5th of January, a special art program makes the festival atmosphere even more bustling.

Preserving many historical and cultural values

According to the remaining stele, Hao Pagoda was built in 1011 under the reign of Ly Thai To, the founding king of the Ly Dynasty. In addition to worshiping Buddha, the pagoda also worships Tran Nhan Tong - the first founder of the Truc Lam Zen sect, and three laymen who made great contributions to the villagers.

The stele records that during the Tran Dynasty, Nguyen Danh Doan and Pham Thi Phuong had two talented sons, Nguyen Danh Nguyen and Nguyen Danh Quang. The two brothers and their classmate Ly Dinh Khue all passed the exams with high scores, were appointed scholars, and followed King Tran Nhan Tong and Hung Dao Dai Vuong to fight the Yuan-Mongol invaders. Later, when King Tran Nhan Tong became a monk, the three brothers became abbots of Minh Khanh Pagoda for a while, then went to Hao Pagoda to practice asceticism.

In memory of the three laymen, the Tran Dynasty issued royal decrees and built temples to worship them. Nguyen Danh Quang was given the title of Pho Lai layman, Nguyen Danh Nguyen was given the title of Pho Ho layman, and Ly Dinh Khue was given the title of Pho Te layman. Throughout the Tran, Later Le, and Nguyen dynasties, all three continued to receive royal decrees.

Today, Hao Pagoda still preserves many valuable antiques such as 5 royal decrees, 3 green stone thrones for worshipping tutelary gods, along with dozens of stone steles, woodblocks of Buddhist scriptures, tower gardens and worship objects. In particular, the Tran Dynasty lotus stone pedestal with elaborately carved dragon and phoenix patterns is a vivid testament to the sculpture art of that time.

Mr. Cao Van Cuong - Chairman of Thanh Tan Commune People's Committee, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee shared that Hao Pagoda Festival is a traditional event of Thanh Xa Commune in the past with the participation of 4 villages. This year, the commune has just merged with Thanh Thuy Commune to form Thanh Tan. From next year, the government will mobilize the remaining 3 villages to participate in order to expand the scale and increase community cohesion.

With the harmonious combination of beliefs and folk culture, Hao Pagoda was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1993, and Hao Pagoda festival was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2015.