Xoe gong festival

Xoe gong festival Gong spreading is one of the important festivals of the Thai people in the Northwest region in general and the Thai people in Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province in particular. Thai people have a saying: "If you are not happy, if you don't spread the rice plant, it won't bloom, if you don't spread the corn plant, it won't produce corn, if you don't spread it, boy and girl won't be a couple." Therefore, Xoe dance has become an indispensable cultural and traditional custom in the life of the Thai ethnic community. The Gong Spreading Festival of the Thai ethnic group in Lai Chau takes place from January 1 to 15. In the evenings, young people in the villages light a big fire in the open field in the middle of the village and then play gongs and drums, urging everyone to come to the spread circle, chain together, and gather together. Everyone participating in the spread holds hands, forming one or more spreading circles depending on the number of people and yard space. They can be separated into many separate circles or many concentric circles if there are many people and the yard is small. Although the dance is simple, it has a high sense of community, so it attracts a large number of people to participate. During the festival, there are also folk games such as: tossing, tossing, pushing sticks, shooting crossbows, tossing cheeks, and a culinary competition showing the ingenuity and talent of Thai women with traditional dishes such as: Lam rice, grilled fish. The Xoe gong festival ends with musical performances and solidarity rings. Next to the blazing red fire, Thai people hand in hand resounded their songs with the bustling sounds of drums and gongs. Next to the prepared jars of wine, each person enjoys the flavors of the mountains and forests and gives best wishes to each other when the new spring has come.