An Thang Village Communal House Festival

An Thang Village Communal House Festival, Chuong My Ward, Hanoi City

The festival takes place from the 11th to the 13th day of the first lunar month

According to the convention of An Thang Village, the communal house festival is held as a grand festival once every 3 to 5 years (with a palanquin procession for the spring outing and ceremonies. The festival takes place from the morning of the 11th day of the first lunar month to the end of the afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month). In ordinary years, when only the annual festival is held, only ceremonies are conducted without a palanquin procession, and it takes place over 2 days, the 11th and 12th days of the first lunar month. On the 1st day of the 4th lunar month, a ceremony is held to enter summer; on the 1st day of the 7th lunar month, a ceremony is held to leave summer; on the 15th day of the 12th lunar month, there is a longevity celebration for the elders; on the 12th day of the first lunar month, the elders bring offerings to present to the village elders, also called the Vong Ceremony.

The festival is held to commemorate the merits of the three Village Tutelary Gods, including deities credited with reclaiming land, establishing hamlets, defending the country, and protecting the people, especially the merits of the Tutelary Gods Local Guardian Deities and Meritorious Officials, commemorating the contributions of the founding predecessors who established the village and preserved traditions, and worshipping the sacred deities who protect the village.

* Prohibitions and taboos during the festival: Families in mourning for close relatives must wait until the mourning period ends before they may join the festival organizing committee.

 * Before the festival: The local government holds a joint meeting, including the Party Secretary, Village Head, and heads of departments and mass organizations. Then, a festival organizing committee is established, and tasks are assigned to each member of the committee. The meeting takes place at the communal house or the residential group cultural house.

* Afternoon of the 10th day of the first lunar month:

- Elderly men of the village go to the communal house to perform ceremonies to dust and clean the ritual objects and to assemble and wash the palanquins. The elders wipe them three times: first with clean well water, then with ginger water, and finally with alcohol. After that, the shrine keeper and some respected elders dress the Village Tutelary God. The elderly women sweep and clean the communal house. The registration ceremony is performed.