Traveling during the festival in Hoi An, you will not only be able to admire the ancient beauty colored by time in the old town but also be able to immerse yourself in the bustling atmosphere in a beautiful, unique setting. The following 12 festivals in Hoi An that yourvietnam.org want to suggest for you to enjoy such beautiful things.
For a long time, festivals in Hoi An have been considered an indispensable part of the traditional culture of the people of the old town. So it will be exciting opportunity for you to travel, understand more about the old town’s culture and have new and exciting experiences.
Hoi An ancient town, has an entire moon night festival (lantern festival)
The moon night or lantern festival in Hoi An has become a symbol of the old town. When coming to the festival, you will find in the brilliant space of colorful lanterns. And you can also participate in releasing flower lanterns on the Hoai River with the meaning of praying for luck and health…
For couples traveling to Hoi An, releasing lanterns means praying for lasting love. Become a participant in this festival in Hoi An, you can enjoy the warm atmosphere and take sparkling, poetic photos with lantern light.
- Location: Hoi An Ancient Town
- Time: 18:00 – 22:00, night of the 14th lunar month
Hoi An Mid-Autumn Festival – Filled with shimmering, magical lanterns.
- Location: Hoi An Ancient Town
- Time: Full moon day of the 8th lunar month every year
Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival held bustlingly across the country. This festival is also when Hoi An shines brightly under lanterns on the year’s brightest, full moon day. People will decorate every street with colorful lanterns. Then local people and tourists will join the lantern procession to celebrate the festival…
In particular, you will encounter bustling lion dance troupes on the streets and images of children playing together. All will bring unforgettable and unique impressions of the festivals in Hoi An during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Thu Bon Festival – The festival attracts a large number of tourists from all over
- Location: Dinh Ba, Duy Tan, Duy Xuyen, Quang Nam
- Time: February 12 of the lunar calendar every year
Mrs. Thu Bon Festival is organized but equally solemnly with unique traditional activities such as cake baking competition, repartee singing, playing human chess, tug of war… The festival attracts a large number of tourists.
When traveling to Hoi An, you can experience and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of exciting folk games. This festival commemorates Mrs. Thu Bon – who brought about agriculture and fishery and blessed people’s work to go smoothly.
Thien Hau’s funeral ceremony – A unique festival in Hoi An
- Location: Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, Ngu Bang Assembly Hall
- Time: March 23 of the lunar calendar every year
The ceremony to worship Thien Hau originates from China. The main objective of this ceremony is to remembrance and gratitude to Thien Hau for blessing a year of good weather and wind at sea so traders can do business peacefully.
During the ceremony, the host will give a speech in Chinese praising Ms. Thien Hau’s contributions to the people.
At the same time, the festival also takes place in many bustling activities such as lion dances, cultural performances, tattoo applications… This festival is an opportunity for visitors to understand local culture better and join in the bustling festival atmosphere. Phuc Kien Assembly Hall is also a famous Hoi An tourist destination many tourists love and check in.
Vu Lan Festival – Traditional festival in Hoi An ancient town
- Location: Temples in Hoi An and the old town by the Hoai River.
- Time: Full moon day of the 7th lunar month every year.
Vu Lan is a filial piety ceremony nationwide on the full moon day of the 7th lunar month every year. But in Hoi An, the holiday is celebrated in a big way with activities of turning off the electricity and releasing lanterns at 7:00 p.m.
All create a brilliant, peaceful scene throughout the old town. Vu Lan ceremony has many meanings to help children show their filial piety. And the festival is also an opportunity for everyone to appreciate the gratitude of their parents and grandparents for giving birth and raising them. This festival is a cultural beauty that yourvietnam.org hope you can join.
Ca Ong worshiping ceremony prays for “calm waves and calm seas”
- Location: Ong Lang in Hoi An fishing village, Quang Nam
- Time: Mid-March of the lunar calendar every year
Just like fishermen in fishing villages in other provinces, Hoi An people also organize the Ca Ong worshiping. The festival aims to express gratitude to the Ong fish for blessing the waves and diving seas helping fishermen have a good fishing season and return safely.
During this festival in Hoi An, people will offer offerings (no seafood), and boats will be decorated with bright lanterns. The ceremony is held at night, and a series of vessels will have a procession at sea at dawn the following day. Traveling to Hoi An on this occasion, you can immerse yourself in the bustling, sacred festival atmosphere and admire the brilliant trains…
Cau Bong Festival – A unique Hoi An festival attracting many tourists
- Location: Tra Que vegetable village, Cam Hoa commune
- Time: January 7 of the lunar calendar every year
Cau Bong Festival is quite famous and unique in Hoi An. It is a special occasion for people to express gratitude to their ancestors who publicly discovered the Tra Que vegetable village. During the festival in Hoi An, visitors will be transformed into actual farmers participating in vegetable growing and harvesting activities.
Visitors also have the opportunity to show off their housekeeping skills through a competition to decorate and display vegetables according to each year’s theme. The festival is an outstanding cultural feature and a networking opportunity for visitors to understand better the lives of the people of Tra Que vegetable village.
Famous festival in Hoi An – Long Chu procession – Hoi An
- Location: The coastal villages of Hoi An town
- Time: Full moon in January and full moon in July every year.
The long Chu procession, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, was the procession of kings and generals to ward off evil spirits and protect people for a peaceful and happy life. Long Chu is meticulously crafted by skilled artisans from bamboo, decorated at both ends of the boat, and tied with figures, flags, and parasols inside.
Witch doctors will perform the ceremony. People will light firecrackers to wait for Long Chu to arrive, then take amulets and hang them before their doors to ward off evil spirits. It is a spiritual and solemn festival and an opportunity for visitors to understand better the unique features of festival culture in Hoi An.
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Thanh Ha Pottery Village Festival has many attractive activities.
- Location: Thanh Ha Pottery Village
- Time: July 10 of the lunar calendar every year
It is the death anniversary of the pottery profession held to pay tribute to the artisans who contributed to building Thanh Ha pottery village since the 16th century. The festival not only shows cultural beauty but also brings significance. Educating the next generation must protect and preserve the acceptable traditional values of craft villages.
Participating in the festival in Hoi An on this occasion, you will be able to admire the procession of the Lord’s palanquin through all the streets to worship. Thanh Ha Pottery Village Festival also has many exciting activities that attract thousands of visitors, such as lion dancing, performances, and folk games about pottery…
Nguyen Tieu Tet festival
- Location: Hoi An Ancient Town
- Time: Full moon day of January every year
Tet Nguyen Tieu means wishing for a peaceful new year. This festival is an opportunity for people to organize rituals to worship, relieve drought and pray for peace. In Hoi An, the festival has many exciting activities and folk games throughout the old town, such as blindfolded drumming, Bai Choi singing, Origami paper folding, and coconut leaf folding… The bustling scene helps visitors have exciting experiences on their self-guided trip here.
Kim Bong Carpentry Village’s ancestor’s death anniversary ceremony
- Location: Kim Bong Carpentry Village, Cam Kim Commune, Hoi An City.
- Time: January 6 every year.
The death anniversary of Kim Bong carpentry village is held lavishly every year to commemorate the merits of carpentry ancestors and remind the next generation of their roots. The ceremony took place at the communal house under the chairmanship of the village elders.
Then, carpentry production establishments and households conduct offerings to ancestors and carpenters at their establishments and homes.
After the ceremony, the festival takes place in the center of the craft village with many exciting activities such as demonstration of carving, basket weaving, mat weaving, rural market… This festival in Hoi An attracts the attention and participation of many visitors.
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Death anniversary of the ancestors of the bird’s nest profession
- Location: Tan Hiep island commune – Cu Lao Cham
- Time: 9th and 10th of the third lunar month
The death anniversary of the ancestors of the bird’s nest profession is held to commemorate and express gratitude to the predecessors who have contributed to the bird’s nest profession and pray for the blessings of the sea and sky. The festival also helps workers raise their pride and awareness of protecting the rare natural resources of the islands.
It is also an important event to introduce and promote the typical traditional crafts of Hoi An River residents. The death anniversary of the ancestors of the Yen craft has many exciting activities such as:
- Boat racing
- Tug of war by boat on the sea
- Bai Choi festival
- Traditional art performances
- Cu Lao Cham delicious food market
- Tours to visit sea landscapes.
Yourvietnam.org thinks it is genuinely an exciting opportunity to travel and visit Hoi An.
In conclusion, if you have chance to travel to Hoi An, you should definitely attend one of the above festivals. Each festival in Hoi An will give you interesting memories that cannot be found anywhere else.
