“Quan the am” Cultural Festival

The Quan The Am Cultural Festival is organized on the 19th day of the second month (lunar calendar) every year with cultural activities which help restore and promote the traditional culture of Viet Nam.

The festival is held on Ngu Hanh mountain, in Danang City, Vietnam. The Quan The Am Festival was first organized in 1962, for the inauguration of the Avalokiesvara Buddhisattava statue in Hoa Nghiem cave at Thuy Son Mount, in the Marble Mountains of Vietnam. The same year, the festival was reorganized in Kim Son cave after the construction of the Quan The Am Pagoda on the Kim Son Mount. Until 1991, this festival was organized annually on a large scale and celebrations lasted for three entire days.

The Quan The Am Festival consists of two parts: the religious ceremony and the festival itself. The ceremony, similar to Buddhist rituals, consists of flower offerings and prayers. The Dharma-preaching sessions about Avalakiesvara Buddhisattava are also very interesting.

Several cultural activities bearing the national colors of Vietnam, such as singing folk songs, chess playing, music, painting, carving, lion dancing, offering lamps on the river, and classical opera also take place. The Quan The Am Festival is organized on the 19th day of the second lunar month; this festival, as well as many others, is held in an attempt to restore and promote the traditional culture of Vietnam.

Source: www.vietventures.com