Hai Phong Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Hai Phong, Vietnam)

Festivals in Vietnam are all about tradition, spirituality and keeping in touch with what really matters. The Vietnamese love their celebrations, and in Hai Phong, most of these festivities and events involve visits to pagodas and ritual ceremonies to honour Buddhist or traditional deities.

Many festivals in Hai Phong are strongly family-oriented and Christmas is celebrated in the traditional manner by the many Vietnamese Catholics. Each year at the end of April, nearby Do Son Beach plays host to the Do Son Tourism Festival, where numerous fun activities take place, including a golfing tournament at the swanky Do Son Seaside Golf Resort.

Hai Phong Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Tet Nguyen Dan - the most important festival of the year, held on the Lunar New Year for a week everywhere in Vietnam. This celebration brings far-flung family members home for the week's festivities amid wishes for health, happiness and good luck

February

• Lin Festival - takes place north of Hanoi in Lim, where it has become famous for its performances of traditional folk songs, which draw thousands of people to this event each year

March

• International Women's Day - March 8th, a global celebration of women's achievements around the world, with Vietnam's version being a holiday
• President Ho Chi Minh's Birthday - May 19th, the founder of the modern-day Democratic Republic of Vietnam is honoured and remembered on his birthday

April

• Perfume Pagoda Festival - 6th day of the first to the third month to lunar month, takes place north of Hanoi in Huong Son's Huong Pagoda, as well as many other pagodas and cave temples in the region. Ceremonies are held in the temples and worshippers give thanks for the beauty of nature
• Liberation Day / Reunification Day - April 30th, remembering the fall of Saigon and the subsequent reunification of the country in 1975
• Do Son Tourism Festival - late April to early May, based around the Do Son seaside, with dragon boat racing, a golf tournament, volleyball, buffalo fighting and many outdoor recreational activities

May

• International Workers' Day - early May, a national holiday with various marches and street demonstrations
• Whale Festival - a fishermen's celebration, held across the country in every fishing village, port and harbour for two days in May. Expect lavishly decorated homes and temples, offerings to the whale god, processions and boat races

June

• Chem Temple Festival - 14th to 16th day of the fourth lunar month, takes place in Hanoi and honours a famous warrior whose efforts once prevented the Chinese from overrunning the region

July

• Tet Doan Ngo Festival - 5th of the fifth lunar month, is held halfway through the year in Vietnam to ensure a successful second-half by warding off evil spirits and sickness. Much ceremony and ritual takes place to please the gods

August

• Tet Trung Nguyen - 15th of the seventh lunar month, staged in Buddhist temples all over the country, with rituals to honour the dead and pardon them for their various transgressions in life

September

• Buffalo Fighting Festival - 9th of the eight lunar month, is held in Hai Phong Stadium every September, with many thousands of spectators turning up to watch. This event continues for a two-week period and the loser in each contest is the buffalo who runs away first
• National Day - September 2nd, a celebration of victory and independence, taking place all over Vietnam with parades, traditional performances, songs and dances

October

• Capital Liberation Day - early October, with numerous cultural events, exhibitions and performances
• Vietnamese Women's Day - October 20th, when husbands give their wives flowers and other presents, and children show their affection to their mothers

November

• Harvest Festivals - held in farming communities all over the country, just as they are all over the world. The ethnic Muong in particular enjoy this time, with ancestor worship a major part of the festivities

December

• Christmas Day - December 25th, Vietnam's French colonial heritage has its day at Christmas, as many Vietnamese are Roman Catholic. Churches are busy with masses, and grand family occasions are the order of the day