Vice Secretary of the HCM city Party Committee Nguyen Thi Le (second from left) presents a certificate recognizing the Nguyen Tieu Festival to a representative of the Hoa group, July 5, 2020. (Photo: VNA)

The festival, known as the Spring Lantern Festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the final day of traditional Chinese New Year celebrations, to pray for good luck throughout the year.

Huynh Cam Phan, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, says, “The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is a day to pray for happiness, good health, and prosperity in the new year. We are proud that our festival has been recognised as a national intangible heritage.”

The Hoa, Vietnamese of Chinese origin, live mainly in District 5, 6, 10, and 11, in Ho Chi Minh City.