On the morning of July 3 (on the first day of the 6th lunar month), Mong Cai City solemnly opened Tra Co Communal House Festival 2019, attracting a great number of locals and tourists.
Tra Co Communal House is one of the typical cultural, artistic and architectural relics of Mong Cai City. It has been ranked as the national - level historical relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now known as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). This is one of the communal houses with long history of unique culture and architecture. It was built in the late Le Dynasty and located at Nam Tho Area, Tra Co Ward, Mong Cai City. It is considered as one of the sacred cultural landmarks in the border area of the country.
Tra Co Communal House Festival has been restored since 1993. It is annually held from the 29th day of the fifth lunar month to the 3rd day of the sixth lunar month to recall ancestors and national heroes’ contributions to the commune’s construction and their fight against foreign invaders and teach the younger generation about national pride. It also promotes the communal house’s history, culture, and architecture to domestic and international visitors.
Particularly, “Mr. Elephant” competition is the highlight of the festival, showing locals’ wishes for a happy life as well as affirming Vietnamese cultural features. According to the local customs, before starting the festival, Tra Co village organizes a meeting to choose 12 caretakers who are responsible for next year’s festival. Each caretaker will take good care of a pig which respectfully called “ Mr Elephant”.
Tra Co Communal House Festival consists of rituals and festive events. The rituals include traditional ceremonials such as palanquin processions, God lamp procession, fruit tray arrangement, Van Linh Khanh Pagoda festival etc. The festive events take place with exciting activities such as judging “Mr Elephant”, Chinese chess competition, tug of war, bag jumping etc.
Translated by Thu Giang
