Festival of rice blowing competition in Dong Van

Unique Rice Blowing Competition in Dong Van Dong Van rice blowing competition is a festival rich in traditional culture, imbued with heroic history. Taking place on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, the people of Dong Van village, Dong Thap commune, Dan Phuong district, Hanoi organize the rice blowing festival. This is a unique folk culture in this locality. This festival has been recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training in the 6th grade textbook. Unlike other festivals, the Dong Van rice-blowing festival originates from the ancient Vietnamese people's battle against the enemy on the banks of the Day River. This year, the contest has 6 participating teams, each team consists of 6 people.  Each team is dressed up as characters in both modern and traditional costumes to show off their skills in blowing rice while also bringing a joyful atmosphere to the festival's viewers. In particular, this year's festival is a little different as Dong Van village has just received a city-level historical relic status. As usual, before starting the competition, participating teams will burn incense at the village communal house, expressing gratitude to their ancestors for their contributions in repelling foreign invaders on the banks of the Day River. As soon as the drum signal ended, the teams were as quick as squirrels, each person had a job, divided into one task: one to fetch water, one to fetch sieves, one to fetch fire, fetch water, one to pound rice, one to spin bamboo into cotton fibers for firewood...  When it comes to blowing rice, two team members will move in the form of the person holding a stick with pots and pans hanging first and the person lighting the fire following in the cheers of the audience. At the end of cooking, the teams' products are numbered and graded publicly in front of the villagers.