Dai Lo Temple Festival

Opening ceremony of Dai Lo Temple The festival is solemnly held in Ninh So countryside (Thanh Tri district, Hanoi) from the 1st - 10th of the second lunar month every year. The main festival takes place over three days, from the 4th to the 6th of the second lunar month. From the city center, go south for more than 15 kilometers (following Minh Khai - Tam Trinh street), then continue on Huu Hong dike for another 5 kilometers, visitors will reach the ancient Dai Lo temple, a timeless scenic spot of the Northern countryside. Dai Lo Temple was built during the Tran Dynasty, more than 700 years ago. There have been many different studies surrounding the birth of the temple as well as this traditional festival, but the elders in the village still pass on to their descendants a mysterious and proud story. In the past, the dike in Ninh So village broke, the people in the village tried every way to rebuild it but failed. After that, the King himself and the villagers went to the Nhi Ha River to pray and perform a ceremony to ask the three holy mothers for the Long Khuc Dike, and the villagers asked to set up a temple to worship. At that time, two snakes (the villagers called them two snakes or two snakes) suddenly appeared, slowly joining their tails together, from then on the dike was sealed and never broke again. That's why, right above the altars in Dai Lo Temple are decorated with two snakes coiled on the beams. This year, right from the dawn of the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month in cold and drizzly weather, the opening ceremony took place at Dai Lo temple and Quan temple in accordance with the ritual of worshiping the Holy House, including the ceremony of opening the temple door, offering vestments and clearing the seats at both temples. After that, tourists and villagers are allowed to enter the temple to offer incense and offerings to the Saint. The main festival takes place over three days, from the 4th to the 6th of the second lunar month. On the morning of the 5th, the water procession (water procession) on the Red River is held. The purpose of this ritual is to pray for favorable weather and water for worship. The 6th day is also known as the main party of the Four Holy Mothers, so all activities are aimed at honoring her reputation. Compulsory offerings are day cakes and rice balls with sesame salt. The Dai Lo Temple Festival is held solemnly and traditionally but without ostentation or waste, the people here are polite and hospitable. In particular, the Festival organizers prohibit free singing activities outside the temple area to ensure order. The festival does not attract tourists to fortune-telling, fortune-telling, or participating in red-black games, and there are no beggars.   Tourists coming to the festival can freely visit temples and pagodas in the village and offer incense to the Saints during the days of the festival. When leaving, visitors can buy banh day - the village's specialty as a gift.