Xuan Duc Huc Cau Festival

Every spring, from the 3rd to the 5th day of the first lunar month, the Van Chi space of Xuan Duc Village, Soc Son Commune, becomes bustling with festival drumbeats and cheers of encouragement during the Huc Cau Festival – a distinctive folk festival deeply marked by wet-rice civilization and the martial spirit of the Vietnamese people.

According to legend, since the reign of the Sixth Hung King, when General Huu Lam - a unit of Saint Giong - stopped in the land of Xuan Duc, the game of huc cau was born from the amusement of soldiers and shepherd children. Over thousands of years, the festival has still been preserved by local people as a cultural treasure of their homeland.

The highlight of the festival is the wooden ball-hitting competition on the dirt yard in front of Van Chi. The heavy wooden ball, symbolizing the sun and life, is contested by two teams of strong, unmarried young men who compete with strength, skill, and team spirit. Every ball contest is lively and fierce, attracting a large number of locals and visitors to join the festive atmosphere.

More than a folk game, the Huc Cau Festival also conveys the age-old aspirations of agricultural people for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and a peaceful, prosperous life. According to folk belief, the result of the huc cau match is also an omen for the weather and crops of the new year.

To this day, the Xuan Duc Huc Cau Festival is still preserved intact by the community with traditional rituals such as the incense procession, the ceremony to worship the Village Tutelary God, the Dao Lo ritual, huc cau, and the thanksgiving ceremony. The elders directly teach the rituals, rules of the game, and cultural values to younger generations, contributing to preserving the heritage's source.

The Huc Cau Festival is not only a typical cultural activity of Xuan Duc Village but also a symbol of community solidarity, educating the tradition of love for the homeland, preserving national cultural identity, and attracting visitors to Soc Son, a land rich in historical and cultural traditions.

Come to Xuan Duc at the beginning of spring to immerse yourself in the bustling atmosphere of the Huc Cau Festival, experience its distinctive cultural beauty, and join hands to preserve and spread the value of the intangible cultural heritage of Soc Son homeland to the domestic community and international friends.