Visitors at Yen Tu pagoda

Vice State President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh participated in the ceremony. Tens of thousands of visitors, Buddhist monks, nuns and followers from across the country joined the pilgrimage. Le Chinh is in charge of the festival program: “We have offerings made by local people from 11 wards in commemoration of  Buddhist King Tran Nhan Tong and founders of the Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Zen. These include fruits and cakes made from rice.”

Dong Trieu town in Quang Ninh province hosted Ngoa Van spring festival in the Tran Dynasty national special relic site on Saturday. The festival, running from the ninth day of the first lunar month to the end of the third lunar month, aims to pay tribute to King Monk Tran Nhan Tong, honour the ideological values of the Truc Lam Zen sect and pray for a prosperous year. Head of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Thich Thien Nhon: “Since 2016, we have held third consecutive festivals here with progressive repairs and construction of relic sites to facilitate pilgrims paying tribute at the location of Ngoa Van, Dong Trieu, where King Monk Tran Nhan Tong entered Nirvana.”

Thousands of fishermen from Bac Lieu and Mekong Delta coastal provinces flocked to the Nghinh Ong or Whale Worshiping festival, which Saturday  in Bac Lieu province. The festival included ceremonies and rituals performed by the local fishermen to show their gratitude to the whale and pray for fair winds and good seas, a safe return to shore, good luck, happiness and prosperity. It also educated fishermen in raising their awareness of seafood resources protection.