Opening ceremony and festivities of Hoa Lu Festival to be halted
The annual festival of Hoa Lu in the northern province of Ninh Binh will be held without festivities this year, according to the provincial People's Committee.
The annual festival of Hoa Lu will be organised with only traditional spiritual ceremonies like incense-offering ceremony. (Photo: baodantoc.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) - The annual festival of Hoa Lu in the northern provinceof Ninh Binh will be held without festivities this year, according to the provincial People's Committee.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival will be celebrated on a small scalebut its respectful spirit will still be retained to ensure both locals andtourists’ safety, the organisers said.
Instead of holding the opening ceremony of Hoa Lu Festival as usual, Ninh Binh provincewill exclude its opening ceremony and all other festivities.
Only some traditional ceremonies will be organised by the Hoa Lu DistrictPeople's Committee and the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh province,such as the temple-opening ceremony, water procession, the ceremony of Buddhabathing and the thanksgiving ceremony.
The Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh province will preside overthe incense offering ceremony.
Earlier, the Ninh Binh People's Committee drew up a plan for theorganisation of the Hoa Lu Festival 2021 in November 2020.
The annual festival is one of 100 national intangible cultural heritages.Together with the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, the Hoa Lu Festival is animportant part of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site of Trang Anscenic complex. It aims to commemorate the national heroes Le Dai Hanh and KingDinh Tien Hoang who built and protected the country.
Over the years, the traditional festival has had almost all of its traditionalrituals restored, honouring the cultural values of the Dinh-Le (Early Le)dynasty (968-1010).
Held from the 9th to the 11th day of the third lunar month, which falls onApril 20-22 this year, Hoa Lu Festival typically attracts thousands ofattendees./.
The Red River Delta province of Ninh Binh welcomed over 7.3 million visitors in 2018, grossing 3.2 trillion VND (138 million USD) from tourism services, a year-on-year increase of 19.2 percent.
The northern province of Ninh Binh, host of the 2020 National Tourism Year, has been fully prepared for a grand opening of the year, slated for February 22.
Ninh Binh province, which is hosting the 2020 National Tourism Year, strives to welcome about 7.8 million tourists in the year, including approximately one million foreigners.
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The annual festival of Hoa Lu will be organised with only traditional spiritual ceremonies like incense-offering ceremony. (Photo: baodantoc.vn) 
