Traditional 'Nghinh Ông' Festival Celebrated by Hoa Community in Lam Dong

On the morning of September 6th, the traditional 'Trung Nguyên Kiến Tiêu Nghinh Ông Quan Thánh Đế Quân' festival was celebrated in Phan Thiet city, Lam Dong province, with a procession passing through the city streets. This festival is a long-standing tradition of the Hoa (Chinese) community in Phan Thiet. It serves as an occasion to commemorate and honor the merits of Guan Sheng Di Jun, while also showcasing the cultural life, beliefs, and fine traditional values that the Hoa community has preserved and passed down through generations. Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the 'Nghinh Ông' procession. Many households and businesses along the route also performed traditional ceremonies. Through these rituals, participants expressed their hopes for national peace, favorable weather, a peaceful life, social prosperity, and happiness for all families. Typically held every two years during the latter half of the seventh lunar month in even-numbered Gregorian calendar years, the 'Nghinh Ông Quan Thánh Đế Quân' festival has evolved into a distinctive cultural event that attracts a large number of Hoa community members, local residents, and tourists from both within and outside the province. The festival not only allows the Hoa community to preserve its traditional culture and beliefs but also provides an opportunity to meet, exchange, and strengthen solidarity and bonds among various associations, groups, and between the Hoa community and the local population. This contributes to preserving and introducing the cultural beauty of Phan Thiet to visitors from afar.