Tran Temple’s seal opening ceremony starts

(Cinet) - The seal opening ceremony at Tran temple in the northern province of Nam Dinh took place on the 14th night of the first lunar month on February 5 with the participation of thousands of pilgrims.

Each year as part of the festival local residents organise food distribution ceremonies at the beginning of the lunar new year to commemorate the general's achievements and to educate younger generations about the importance of saving and stockpiling food for emergencies.

It is the first year that Vietnam Institute for Culture and Arts, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; City’s People Committee and the MOCSTbuild a senario for the festival.

The ceremony was a re-enactment of a custom dating back the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), when mandarins took out their seals after the Tet holiday, resuming administrative activities, including rewarding and conferring titles.

The 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.

Following a short speech of a local official praising the great accomplishment of the Tran dynasty, the seal opening ceremony was held in a simple and solemnly manner in line with the traditional rites. This year, 80,000 parcels were distributed in 21 areas surrounding the temple by elders in traditional costumes.The Tran Temple Festival, another festival commemorating Tran Hung Dao and the brilliant feat of arms of the Tran dynasty, was also opened on Sunday night in the northern province of Nam Dinh. Replicas of Tran temple’s seal were distributed to the public from 7am on the 15th day of the first lunar month till the end of the lunar month, helping ease the crowd of pilgrims.

During two days January 15 and 16, the Organization Board will organize some activities about traditional culture and arts to attract more tourists to visit Tran temple.