Virtual programme highlights Tet rituals
The Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre on January 19 launched a virtual programme in celebration of the Tet (Lunar New Year), the biggest and longest festival of the Vietnamese people.
Various traditional rituals performed during Tet are re-enacted and can be found at www.hoangthanhthanglong.vn and trungbayonline.hoangthanhthanglong.vn.
A highlight of the programme is a thematic exhibition that explains procedures to create and issue the ancient calendar in the Le Dynasty (1428-1789), especially a process to present the calendar cover to the king.
The process was recently re-enacted at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
Traditional Tet customs such as worshiping the ancestors and displaying Tet pictures and couplets, among others, are also introduced. On showcase are artisans’ specialised tools and materials to create woodblocks.
Historian Le Van Lan will tell stories about Tet and woodblock artisan Nguyen Van Thao will introduce an important process to make books during feudal periods.
During the Le Dynasty, the king and court officials will issue the calendar for the people ahead of the new lunar year. Upon receiving the king’s approval, copies of the calendar will be made and handed over to citizens on the 24th day of the last lunar month. The event marked the start of spring and Tet for people all over the nation.
