(VOVworld)- The winners of the ‘Bui Xuan Phai - For the Love of Hanoi’ Awards have been announced at a ceremony in Hanoi. The Idea Prize was awarded to a group from the Co Loa Vestiges Preservation Centre who wanted to revive the week-long Quang Chieu colored lantern festival that used to be held at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. The idea is expected to rekindle the Citadel's spirit by restoring a spiritual and cultural ritual that was practiced here nearly 1,000 years ago.

The Quang Chieu colored lantern festival was a royal lighting festival held during the Ly and Tran dynasties from the 12^th to the 14^th century inside the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. According to scholars, the Kings of the Ly and Tran dynasties were devout Buddhists and they held the festival to promote Buddha’s light of compassion not only for the royal family but also for the public and to pray for national stability and prosperity and happiness for people. Professor Phan Huy Le, President of Vietnam’s History Science Association says: "Quang Chieu is an interesting festival because it is both a cultural and a religious festival. It is also a royal and a public festival. These characteristics make the festival special".

Over the years, the Quang Chieu lantern festival has faded into oblivion, but recently, researchers have found a number of historical documents and artifacts pointing to the festival’s former vitality. According to the Dai Viet Annals of 1110, the Quang Chieu festival was held outside Dai Hung Gate in January. The Complete Annals of Dai Viet of 1126 record : “ This Spring in February, the Quang Chieu festival was held day and night and viewed by Chinese envoys”. On a stone stele in Long Doi pagoda in Ha Nam province is an inscription of a poem describing the festival as having a 7-storey tower intricately decorated with pearls and gems. There was also a dragon-shaped bamboo pole holding a golden lotus and candle holders fitted with a small flashing pinwheels.

Quang Chieu means lighting to awaken people’s compassion and kindheartedness and praying to the Buddha for longevity and health. The overall meaning of the festival is to pray for peace, happiness and prosperity for the country. Researchers say the restoration of the Quang Chieu lantern festival will revitalize a typical cultural and religious ritual of ancient Thang Long enriching the value of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel World Heritage. The idea has received wide support from cultural, historical and religious researchers as well as from the public. Tran Duc Hiep, an official in Hanoi’s tourism sector says: "Archeological artifacts found at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel will help younger generations discover the country’s history and their predecessors’ heroic tradition of fighting against foreign invaders. I’m very surprised to see sophisticated ceramic artifacts and traces of ancient festivals dating back thousands of years ago. I’m very interested to learn about the lives of Vietnamese people centuries ago".

Doctor Nguyen Viet Chuc, Director of the Thang Long Culture Research Centre says it won’t be easy to restore the Quang Chieu lantern festival to its original form, so only basic features of the festival will be restored. Mr. Chuc stressed the importance of promoting both traditional and modern features in this festival. Like the Diwali lighting festival in India and the Lantern Festival in Thailand, the Quang Chieu festival will promote the image of Vietnam’s land and people.