(VOVWORLD) - These days, hundreds of festivals are taking place in provinces and cities across Vietnam. Preserving and promoting traditional cultural values through festivals is of great importance to consolidate national cultural sovereignty, creating confidence and resources for national development and international integration.
 At the Lim traditional festival in Bac Ninh province (Photo: VOV) |
Vietnam has several unique traditional festivals in communities nationwide. These festivals have contributed to preserving traditional national culture and enriching the spiritual life of the people, and have also promoted tourism development.
Meeting people’s cultural, religious needs, increasing economic benefit
Thanks to the Party and State's guidelines and policies on encouraging the restoration of traditional cultural values and improving people’s living conditions, several traditional festivals have been restored, contributing to promoting cultural values and preserving the identities of ethnic groups. According to the Department of Grassroots Culture, Vietnam has 8,000 festivals, of which 7,000 are traditional festivals.
Most festivals, whether they are national in scale or small festivals in villages and communes, are held in a solemn, sacred, and respectful manner. Vietnam aims to enhance the responsibility of organizations, individuals, and communities to ensure festival activities are consistent with the country's economic and social development and meet the spiritual needs of all people.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Kinh, former Director of the Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said: "Festivals are important to people and held during intervals between crops. People dress up, prepare food, and pay tribute to national contributors who fought against foreign invaders or who brought professions to villages. Festivals are a time when people shine and share."
 A water procession and fish worshipping is an important ritual to promote agriculture and fishing (Photo: VOV) |
Festivals have attracted visitors from far away and become a resource for development. The Tran Temple Festival in Nam Dinh contributes more than 1.7 million USD to the local budget annually. The Perfume Pagoda Festival brings in millions of dollars. During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Vietnam’s tourism industry served 10.5 million domestic tourists, 16.6% more than last year. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports in Thua Thien-Hue province says the province welcomed a record number of visitors.
“Spring festivals like the Huyen Tran Temple Festival, the wrestling festivals of Thu Le village and Sinh village, and Thai Duong village's fishing festival have attracted large numbers of tourists. They are resources for the development of culture, sports, and tourism in Thua Thien-Hue province,” said Hai.
Traditional culture values are sustainable internal strength
The Communist Party of Vietnam says culture must be closely linked to all aspects of politics, economics, and law to become important internal resources for development.
The resolution of the 13th National Party Congress stresses the need to develop a prosperous, happy country and promote cultural values, the strength of the Vietnamese people, solidarity, and national pride in national construction and defense. Localities and sectors at all levels are closely implementing this orientation.