The Tay Ninh Province People’s Committee on Feb 19 opened the Bà Đen (Black Lady) Mountain Spring Festival.

 Thousands of Buddhist monks, nuns and followers and visitors flocked to the Keo Pagoda festival that opened in Vu Thu district in the Red River Delta province of Thai Binh on February 19 – the fourth day of the lunar New Year.

Vietnam boasts a wide range of intangible cultural heritages recognised by UNESCO. 

 The spring book street opened in December 19 street, Hanoi, on February 18 (the third day of the Lunar New Year), introducing books of different genres to visitors. 

 The Muong Culture Space Museum is located in a small limestone valley in Hoa Binh city, about 70km from Hanoi. 

 The northern province of Bac Ninh is well-known for hosting a number of architectural, religious and cultural heritage.

 Big festivals in first lunar month

 The three main regions of Vietnam are characterized by different climate and soil conditions that result in different traditions and customs.

For generations, Vietnamese have preserved a traditional New Year custom of collecting calligraphic words written in ancient Vietnamese-Chinese script. The practice reflects their respect for knowledge and learning.  

 The list of national treasures has been expanded with the addition of 24 new national treasures under a recent approval decision of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

 If rice is a staple of Vietnamese daily meals, then Gio (Vietnamese sausage) is considered the staple of special occasions, such as Tet (the Lunar New Year), wedding parties and ancestors’ death anniversary.

 Researchers fear the epics of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands might get lost into oblivion. So they are spending their time and energy to record epics, and are even hiring people to translate and print the lyrics for preservation.

Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists flocked to Van Mieu (the Temple of Literature) and Quoc Tu Giam (the first university in Vietnam) in Hanoi on February 17.

 The first international circus gala kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on February 16, the first day of the Lunar New Year 2018.

 Vietnamese female writer and translator Nguyen Thuy Anh was honoured with the annual Russian award for literature translation during a ceremony held in Moscow on February 16 (the first day of the traditional Lunar New Year). 

 Thousands of people have been flocking to the Literature Temple during the lunar New Year to ask for calligraphy created by scholars to hang at home for good luck, and as home decorations.

 ‘Cap sac’ ritual is a rite of passage to mark the coming-of-age of the Dao ethnic men, affirming the recognition of the community and gods to them. 

 For singer Uyen Linh, the age of 30 is wonderful, because at this age she always knows what she wants. 

 Celebrations of the new year rarely lacks the display of pyrotechniques - the noise and lights of which are believed to scare the evils away and herald a robust new year of good health and prosperity.

 Water resource worship is a unique ritual of the Ede in the Central Highlands. It’s held annually to pay tribute to the water genie, who has brought them happiness in the old year, and pray for good fortune in the new year.