Double-five festival

Double-five Festival, a traditional festival in Vietnam and in other countries like China, North Korea, is held at lunar May 5th. According to the book "Phong tho ky", "Doan" is the beginning and "Ngo" wants to say midday. Therefore, "Doan ngo" means the beginning of midday.On May, the principle of Yang arrives to its apogee. The sun is burning hot in particular at noon.

While speaking about the double-five festival, each country has its own explanation. In China, this day has been the death commemoration of Qu Yuan, a talented adviser of king Huai, Chu country since 2000 years. As his advices were refused by the king, he committed suicide in Milo river. As for Vietnam, Double-five Festival is the death anniversary of goddess Au Co. In the South-East of Vietnam, to date, one celebrates the ceremony "Via ba", i.e. Holy Linh Son on Ba Den (Lady Den) mountain.

Beside that, lunar May 5th is also the festival of killing out worms. According to old designs, worms live in the belly of each of us. They there eat and leave from there only on lunar May 5th. This is why, in order to kill them, they eats fruits and especially drinks sticking rice infusion after the clock alarm. It is called the habit to kill out the worms. In the same way, children carry amulets made by small pockets of trifling rice in all colors, bent in form of plum, a carambola, a kumquat... They attach them to multicolored strings. The children color also their hands and feet nails by the basella alba dyeing (except the index and the inch). They also put calao (drug of yellow and red color) known their fontanels, their chest, their umbilical point to frighten the malignant spirits and to avoid diseases. During this festival, each family worships the ancestors. They prepare feasts with vegetarians and non vegetarians dishes. There are always particular cakes named "tro" (ashes). These cakes are made of sticking rice macerated in water of lime or ashes, without joke or with sweetened joke. They pack them by the bamboo sheets. Nowadays, the engaged young man come to see the parents of his future wife and offer gifts to them. The double-five festival is also occasion to express its thanks with the grandparent, the parents, and the doctors and the teachers... Normally, the offering constitutes green peas, sticking rice, and the fruits. In the countryside, at noon of lunar May 5th, people will gather medicinal sheets believing that they are effective to treat diseases.

Today, Double-five Festival remains a great festival of the Vietnamese people. The linked activities to date are maintained although they are not any more the same ones like before. However their significance never changes. That constitutes the national identity which requires to be safeguarded in favor of the generations following.

Source: Vietnam Simple