Firecracker procession festival kicks off in Bac Ninh
The Dong Ky firecracker procession festival - one of the 15 national intangible cultural heritages recoginsed in 2016, opened in Tu Son district in the northern province of Bac Ninh on February 8, attracting thousands of locals and visitors.
The Dong Ky firecracker procession festival (Source: VNA)
Bac Ninh (VNA) - The Dong Ky firecrackerprocession festival - one of the 15 national intangible cultural heritagesrecognised in 2016, opened in Tu Son district in the northern province of BacNinh on February 8, attracting thousands of locals and visitors.
According to theorganisers, the best part of the thousand-year-old festival is the hugefirecracker procession.
The festival is associated with the myth ofSaint Thien Cuong, who fought Xich Quy invaders. It is organized annually inhonour of Saint Thien Cuong’s glorious victory, who came from the Dong Kyvillage.
The two crackers used in the procession are madeof wood and painted with gold lacquer. They are six metres in length with adiameter of 0.6 metre. The bodies of the crackers were carved with the imagesof a dragon, a kylin, a turtle and a phoenix with the hope of favourableweather.
Each cracker was decorated with one star-shapedend and a drum-shaped end and weighs nearly 1,000 kilograms. In the procession,each cracker was alternately carried by around 100 young men from thetraditional cultural house to the ground of the communal house.
It took the Dong Ky villagers two months toprepare for the procession.
Besides the cracker procession, the festivalalso features other folk games like wrestling, cock fighting and Quan Ho loveduet singing.
On every 4th day of the Lunar New Year, Dong Ky villagers hold a firecracker procession to commemorate the day when general Thien Cuong gave order for soldiers to march into battle defeating enemies.
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The Dong Ky firecracker procession festival (Source: VNA) 
