Chuc Son Village Festival

Chuc Son Village Festival includes 03 communal houses: Dinh Noi, Dinh Xa, Dinh Thi, belonging to Dong Son residential group, Noi An residential group, and Binh Son residential group, Chuong My Ward, Hanoi City.

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

- Venue of the festival

+ Dinh Xa, Dong Son residential group, Chuong My Ward

+ Dinh Noi, Noi An residential group, Chuong My Ward

+ Dinh Thi, Binh Son residential group, Chuong My Ward

According to the convention of Chuc Son Village, the village communal house festival is held once every 03 years (major festival), with rituals and palanquin processions,  taking place from the morning of the 11th day of the first lunar month until the end of the afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month. In ordinary years when the major festival is not held, it is only called village affairs, with only rituals and ceremonies, no processions, taking place on many days throughout the year: on the 5th day of the first lunar month, the communal house is opened for spring opening rituals. On the 7th day of the first lunar month, a male ritual is held at Dinh Noi; on the 17th day of the first lunar month, rituals are held for the birthday of Duc Thanh Ca and Duc Thanh Ba; from the 20th to the 23rd day of the third lunar month, rituals are held at Dinh Thi on the death anniversary of Duc Ton Than Bui Nghiem Pho. On 12/5, rituals are held at Dinh Xa and Dinh Noi on the death anniversary of Duc Thanh Ca and Duc Thanh Ba. On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, rituals are held at Dinh Noi and Dinh Xa on the death anniversary of Duc Thanh Hai. The new rice offering ceremony takes place on the 26th day of the tenth lunar month.

The festival is held to commemorate the merits of the three Great Kings, who were three generals of Phu Dong Thien Vuong during the reign of the 6th Hung King. Legend has it that: In the past, in Lang Xuong Cave, Hung Hoa Prefecture, Son Tay Dao, there were a couple, Mr. Han Nguyen and Mrs. Le Thi Ngoc, who practiced medicine to cure and save people. They were inherently kind and devoted to doing good. One day, the couple dreamed that someone told them they would give birth to a son who would bring honor to the family and become famous throughout the world. Indeed, the following year, they gave birth to a son with an unusual appearance, handsome and dignified. They named their son Cuong Chinh.

When Cuong Chinh was 10 years old, unfortunately his father passed away; Cuong Chinh followed his mother back to Chuong Duc District (now Chuong My) to make a living and was sheltered and raised by the district official Truong Tuan.

At that time, in Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang circuits... enemies rose up like bees. Cuong Chinh volunteered to join the army and was assigned by the Hung King to command troops against the enemy. After returning victorious, he was richly rewarded by the king and allowed to return to Chuc Son Village to teach the people to plough, cultivate, raise silkworms, and weave cloth. Three years later, the Yin invaders invaded our country; at that time, Saint Giong heard the envoy proclaim a call for talented people to help the country, and Saint Giong then stretched himself into a tall man with extraordinary strength and rose up to defeat the invaders. Cuong Chinh, together with two water deities, Oai Linh Cong and Tam Te Cong, came to assist. The invaders were defeated, and all of them were rewarded by the court. After they passed away, local people built temples to worship them

* Taboos in the festival: chief celebrant: if his family is in mourning for parents and four generations, he must wait until the mourning period ends before continuing to serve.  The person chosen by the villagers as Chief Celebrant must present offerings including a tray of sticky rice and a pig's head to the Saints. If he takes a leave, he must also come and ask the Saints for permission to step down. Seven days before the festival, the palanquin team must gather at the residential group's Cultural House, avoid contact and intimacy with women, and eat and drink food cooked by the festival organizing committee; regularly rinse their mouths with ginger water; bathe in ginger water.

 * Before the festival: The local government holds a joint conference, including Party Secretaries, village heads, and heads of departments and organizations. After that, a festival steering committee is established, and tasks are assigned to each member of the steering committee. The meeting takes place at the village communal house or the residential group's cultural house.

* The 10th day of the first lunar month:

- In the afternoon: Elderly men in the village go to the communal house to perform rituals to clean the worship objects and assemble and wash the palanquins. They wipe them with water three times: first with clean well water, then with ginger water, and finally with alcohol. After that, the temple keeper and some respected elders in the village dress the village tutelary god. The elderly women go to sweep and clean the communal house.

* The 11th day of the first lunar month:

- In the morning from 7:30: the elderly men hold a ritual at the communal house, carrying the saints from the rear chamber to Dai Noi; after the opening ceremony and other forms and rituals are performed to report to the tutelary god, the festival is held. From 10:00, a palanquin procession is organized from Dinh Noi to Dinh Xa.

- Palanquin procession. The procession starts from Dinh Noi. Before setting off, the palanquin team must make the eight-treasure palanquin turn three times in front of the communal house gate. The procession is led by the Long Dinh palanquin carrying the imperial edicts of the deities, followed by the eight treasures, and then the eight-treasure palanquin. The eight-treasure palanquin carries a palanquin board along with offerings of flowers and fruit. The procession consists of 16 people, traveling from Dinh Noi to Dinh Xa about 1.2 km apart. In the past, the elders recounted that when the procession passed Quan Xa pool, they had to go down and take water from Quan Xa pool for the procession ritual back to the communal house. After that, the procession went down to Dinh Xa temple and stayed there to perform rituals. Along the way, the procession could make the palanquin turn many times without affecting the offerings inside.

* Morning of the 12th day of the first lunar month: The elders open the communal house for rituals so that local people and pilgrims from all directions can come to worship.

* Afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month: The elders perform rituals, thanksgiving ceremonies, and carry the saints from Dinh Xa back to Dinh Noi, ending the festival.

Through the festival, the village's tradition of 'when drinking water, remember the source' toward the saints and deities is passed on. The festival is also an occasion for the villagers to gather, meet one another, and strengthen their bonds.