"Happy Independence Day" to celebrate National Day September 2

Traditional games recreated by Mong people at the highland market area (documentary photo)

In particular, ethnic people will demonstrate their traditional culture with a highland market space, folk song and dance performances, and introduce regional culinary products, contributing to promoting local culture and tourism.

The highlight of this event is the Highland Market celebrating Independence Day with a cultural space imbued with the colors of the ethnic groups in the Northwest and Northeast, imbued with the characteristics of the Highland Market. The market space has the unique features of a market festival, entertainment associated with folk songs, folk dances, folk games, culinary space, and products with the typical colors of the Mong, Nung, Thai, Tay, Dao, Kho Mu ethnic groups...

The center of the highland market is the booth of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Son La provinces... displaying and introducing ethnic products, cuisine, cultural and tourism features; costumes, scarves, bracelets, brocade souvenirs of the Mong, Thai, Dao, Kho Mu ethnic groups... All will create a bustling, excited, happy atmosphere of the ethnic people with the Happy Independence Day Market.

In particular, the Nung people from Lang Son province will introduce to the public the art of lion and cat dance, which was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.

This is a traditional cultural feature that has been formed through many generations and has long been associated with the Tay and Nung ethnic groups. Every year, when entering festival seasons such as Long Tong, Spring, Mid-Autumn Festival..., the Tay and Nung people in Lang Son enthusiastically hold the lion and cat dance festival. The dance shows the martial spirit with fast, graceful martial arts movements combined with drums. The people believe that the lion and cat dance is to ward off bad things, so the fiercer the cat's face, the better, and the stronger the martial arts movements, the better.

Introducing the art of lion and cat dance in the market space contributes to promoting cultural heritage, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, attracting young people to recall the Mid-Autumn Festival. Visitors will experience making lion masks with artisans; enjoy the folk song and dance program "Happy Independence Day" to celebrate the country, praise the homeland, promote the value of national identity and folk games.

The wedding ceremony of the Nung ethnic group will be recreated in the space of the Cultural - Tourism Village of Vietnamese ethnic groups. The wedding ceremony of the Nung ethnic group includes many unique procedures and rituals, including the bride-welcoming ceremony. This ceremony must take place at the exact time as agreed in the engagement ceremony. The bride-welcoming group usually consists of 6 - 8 people or 10 people. Because according to the folk beliefs of the Nung people, even numbers are lucky numbers (enough pairs). When going to the bride's house, the groom must light incense on the ancestral altar and bow. In some places, after the groom completes these procedures, he will be splashed with water; the more water he is splashed with, the more luck he will have. During the wedding ceremony, the matchmaker will have to respond by singing sli to the bride's family to ask to take the bride home. When arriving at the groom's house, the bride must stand in the yard to do some procedures before being allowed to enter the house.

The Mong ethnic people in Cao Bang province reenact the fire-keeping ghost procession ritual. This is a long-standing traditional ritual, imbued with a distinct cultural identity in the lives of each Mong family and clan. They believe that each clan has its own fire-keeping god, so right after getting married and building a new house, the head of the family will choose an auspicious day to bring the ancestral altar into the house and perform the fire-keeping god procession ritual so that the couple can be in harmony and have good luck in business...

According to VNA