“Khai Ha - Cau An” Festival was solemnly held at the National Historical Cultural Site of the Tomb of Marshal Le Van Duyet in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of February 4 (the seventh day of the first lunar month).
The festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.
Attending the festival were Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council Nguyen Thi Le, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee's Inspection Commission Tran Kim Yen, Commander of the Ho Chi Minh City High Command Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nam, Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Tran Thi Dieu Thuy, along with representatives from city departments, agencies and People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City.
Ho Chi Minh City leaders sincerely offer incense in memory of ancestors at the main hall of the National Historical Cultural Site of the Tomb of Le Van Duyet at the “Khai Ha - Cau An” Festival. (Photo: SGGP/ Thuy Binh)
The event was also attended by 106-year-old historian Nguyen Dinh Tu, who serves as an advisor for the board responsible for managing and preserving the Tomb of Marshal Le Van Duyet as well as the elderly and descendants of Marshal Le Van Duyet.
The “Khai Ha - Cau An” festival (summer opening – prayers for peace festival) is annually held at the Tomb of Le Van Duyet, a high-ranking mandarin of the Nguyen Dynasty, around the seventh of the first lunar month, to preserve and promote the beauty of traditional customs and rich history and cultural diversity of the Vietnamese people aligned with the marks of ancient Vietnamese civilization. It is also an essential cultural and religious event for the people during the Lunar New Year celebrations, reflecting the deep spiritual and cultural traditions of the community.
Especially, the festival holds significant meaning in honoring the ancestors, remembering those who contributed to the reclamation and establishment of the new land; praying for prosperity, fortune, bountiful harvests and the well-being and happiness of the people.
Ho Chi Minh City leaders participate in a ceremony of taking down the Neu tree (known as a bamboo pole). (Photo: SGGP/ Thuy Binh)
Ho Chi Minh City leaders participate in a tree-planting ceremony. (Photo: SGGP/ Thuy Binh)
The “Khai Ha - Cau An” Festival took place at the National Historical Cultural Site of the Tomb of Marshal Le Van Duyet in the early 2025 Lunar New Year following several important rituals of the Nguyen Dynasty such as a worship ceremony for the Marshal, taking down the Neu tree (known as a bamboo pole), offering incense to pray for peace, the ceremony for Khai but (study opening) and Khai an (seal opening), tree-planting ceremony and the “Xay chau- Dai boi” ceremony which involves the performances of folk music and art by traditional artisans or folk artists.
The delegates sincerely offered incense in memory of ancestors at the main hall of the National Historical Cultural Site of the Tomb of Le Van Duyet. After that, they offered incense at the Tomb of the marshal and participated in the tree-planting festival.
There are some photos featuring the festival:
An incense offering ceremony (Photo: SGGP/ Thuy Binh)
By Thuy Binh - Translated by Huyen Huong
