Gióng Festival recognized as the world intangible cultural heritage

Gióng Festival in Phù Đổng Commune, Gia Lâm District, Hà Nội – Photo: VNA

The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee met in Kenya on November 16, examined and inscribed 46 out of 147 candidates on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including the Gióng Festival, organized at Phù Đổng and Sóc Temples in Hà Nội.

The festival is Hà Nội’s third heritage honored by UNESCO in 2010.

Earlier, 82 doctoral steles in the Temple of Literature was recognized as the World Documentary Heritage under the UNESCO’ Memory of the World Register, and the Thăng Long Royal Citadel as the World Culture Heritage.

According to UNESCO’s introduction, the Gióng Festival is celebrated annually in spring in honor of the mythical hero-saint Gióng, who is credited with defending the country from foreign invaders, and is worshipped as the patron god of the harvest, national peace and family prosperity.

The festival at Phù Đổng Temple, which takes place in the fourth lunar month in the Saint’s native village, symbolically re-enacts his feat of arms. The rain after the festival is seen as a blessing from the Saint for an abundant harvest.

The celebrations at Sóc Temple, where Saint Gióng ascended to heaven, take place in the first lunar month.

To date, UNESCO has recognized 212 Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, including four in Việt Nam. They are Huế court music, Gong space of Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands), Bắc Ninh love duet singing, and Gióng Festival.