ClockThursday, 23/01/2025 17:50

Erecting bamboo pole in the Imperial Citadel to welcome the Lunar New Year

TTH.VN - On the morning of January 22 (the lunar December 23), Hue Monuments Conservation Center held the bamboo pole erection ceremony inside Hue Imperial Citadel, following the ritual under the Nguyen Dynasty.

Bringing Tet to employeesFour free buses take 120 students to return home to celebrate TetChildren experience making tet cakes for TetYoung people felt excited to experience traditional Vietnamese and Korean Tet FestivalLaunching tourism tours in At Ty Tet holiday

The bamboo pole erection ceremony this year is held on a Hue sunny day 

In ancient royal life, the bamboo pole erection ceremony (so-called Thuong Tieu ceremony) was a way to signal the arrival of Tet. The word “Tieu” in “Thuong tieu” means “the top of the tree”, - the highest place which is easy to see from afar. Before Tet, the royal court held Thuong tieu ceremony, i.e., the “bamboo pole erection” ceremony to mark the arrival of Tet. The initial purpose was to celebrate Tet, and later it was held as a ritual to worship the gods to bless families with safe and sound, and pray to ancestors to bless for descendants. Additionally, it also was held to ward off evil spirits. The royal court also erected the bamboo pole to pray for favorable conditions and prosperity for the citizens.

Today, Hue Monuments Conservation Center reenacted annually this ritual ceremony on every traditional Lunar New Year

 In addition to the spiritual beliefs of the people, the ceremony of erecting the bamboo pole in the Nguyen Dynasty also signified the arrival of Tet and the arrival of Spring

The bamboo pole erection ceremony began with rituals at the Trieu To Mieu, followed by the bamboo pole procession. The procession with the participation of soldiers, musicians, and flag bearers, picked up a bamboo pole over 15 meters tall from Hien Nhon Gate to Ngo Mon Gate, passing Thai Hoa Palace, and finally stopping at Thai To Mieu, where the bamboo pole erection ceremony was performed with corresponding rituals.

The ceremony taking place in a solemn atmosphere, accompanied by court music, attracted many a visitors to Hue Imperial Citadel. The bamboo pole would remain standing until the 7th day of the lunar new year, when the royal court performs the ceremony of lowering down the pole, marking the beginning of a new working year.

This tradition is not only popular in Hue Ancient Capital, but is also still maintained all over the country. It truly is a beautiful aspect of the Vietnamese people’s spiritual tradition.

By Lien Minh
RATING
Be the first to review this post!
  Comment

YOU MAY CARE ABOUT

Wandering singers of the village

Is there anyone now who still sits at the bridge singing lullabies or folk songs about their village? They sing by will just for fun to introduce their village and their pretty bridge full of love. Such a thing merely happens at the Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge in Thuy Thanh District, Huong Thuy Town.

Wandering singers of the village
Uphill rescue of Han-Nom documents

Every year, tens of thousands of pages of Han-Nom (Sino-Nom) documents scattered across various locations in Hue City are digitized. Little do people know that these documents have existed for centuries and have faced the risk of deterioration for various reasons before being accessed.

Uphill rescue of Han-Nom documents
The spring cup of tea

Sipping tea is a delicate beauty of people in the Ancient Capital City. Especially Hue people have long connected their tea drinking with the Huong river _ the soul of the region.

The spring cup of tea
Salted Coffee Brings the World to Hue

Discovered and introduced by the American news agency CNN, Hue's salted coffee has truly created a fever in 2024. What has made this attractive drink so famous?

Salted Coffee Brings the World to Hue
The pot of banh tet by the Huong river

At the time when everything can be ordered online and delivered to your door, in a cozy place by the Huong river (Perfume River), we still gather every year to cook a pot of banh tet and to sing songs to say our farewells to the old year and welcome the new one. (Banh tet is the symbolic food for Tet (the New Year Celebration).

The pot of banh tet by the Huong river

LASTEST NEWS

Return to top